The wife of a pilot whose aircraft plunged into the ocean during an airshow last year says she thinks about her husband every day.
Andrew Blackwood-Murray was taking part in an airshow linked to the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Global Summit 2025, hosted at Virginia Airport.
On August 14, his ZS-AEC Extra 300 aircraft, which was performing its final display, crashed into the sea.
A month later, ALS Paramedics spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said emergency teams had been called to the Bay of Plenty after a body washed up on the beach.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the unidentified body had been wearing a flight suit.
Now, a year later, 61-year-old Blackwood-Murray’s wife has shared a touching Facebook post in memory of her late husband.
“My baby. You left me a year ago today. Not a day goes by that I don’t ache for you. You were my world. Doing life with you was the biggest blessing I have ever received.
“Saying goodbye has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do. My officer and gentleman. You gave my life meaning and purpose. I am lost without you,” she shared.
She added: “I miss you kissing my forehead every night before we went to bed. I miss your laughter and huge passion for life. I miss the conversations we had without speaking a word.
“You were my everything and more. I miss you in the smallest things and the biggest things. You always knew how to make me feel like a queen.
“Today I’m letting you go free. To fly wherever the wind takes you. In your airplane that you never got to fly in and over the place you loved the most.
“I will never be okay without you, but I promise to try.
“I love you forever and always.”
Image: Facebook
According to the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s preliminary report, the aircraft had been airworthy.
Many of Blackwood-Murray’s friends shared tributes at the time of his death, describing him as a “world-class pilot and true gentleman”.
