Pilot killed as plane plunges into Cape Town bay

CAPE TOWN, Sep 22 (Reuters) A South African aerobatics plane practicing for an airshow plunged into Cape Town's picturesque bay today, killing the pilot, officials said.

The two-seater jet, a Czech-built L-29 trainer, was flying part of a formation routine when it swooped too low and hit the water, witnesses said.

An official at Africa Aerospace and Defence, a trade meeting sponsoring the weekend air show, said the pilot died in the crash.

''The pilot, whose name will be released once his next of kin have been notified, was the sole occupant,'' Kanthan Pillay said in a statement.

Pillay said the plane was part of the Sasol Tiger formation aerobatic team, which regularly performs at South African airshows.

The Tigers last year lost two pilots when another jet crashed at an airshow in Vereeniging, south of Johannesburg.

Witnesses said a military helicopter and rescue boats were in the water near the crash site, about 800 metres (yards) off the beach at Milnerton, a seaside suburb close to Cape Town's city centre.

REUTERS MS PM2122