This plane didn’t crash on a South African highway — it was being transported to Hoedspruit to be turned into a hotel

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Social media was abuzz last week when a video of what appeared to be an aeroplane parked in the middle of a busy South African highway surfaced. Some users speculated that the plane had either crashed or been forced to make an emergency landing. The aircraft was, however, just being transported to its planned destination, where it will be converted into a hotel.

One Facebook post, which we’ve archived here, has garnered more than 5,200 shares. The caption reads: “How does a plane crash in Limpopo Polokwane and it's not even breaking news?”

A screenshot taken on May 20, 2019 of the misleading Facebook post

Social media users had a bit of fun with the situation, with some joking that the pilot had to make an emergency landing after getting lost like this tweet, or that the pilot stopped because he was hungry.

Some social media users made jokes about what the plane was doing on the highway
A screenshot taken on May 20, 2019 of a misleading tweet about the plane

In fact, the plane was where it was supposed to be -- en route to Hoedspruit, Limpopo. 

If you look closely at posts about a plane “crashing” on the highway, you can see that the plane is marked “Aerotel Hoedspruit Limpopo” -- the name of a company that is converting a retired Boeing 737-200 into a 12-bed boutique hotel.

Aerotel Hoedspruit Limpopo’s official Facebook page shows the aircraft, with its wings temporarily removed, had been on a slow journey to Hoedspruit, ready for the renovation.

A screenshot taken on May 21, 2019 of a post on Aerotel's Facebook page

The plane left Kempton Park, Gauteng on May 6, according to posts on the the company's Facebook page, and was sighted along the way as it was transported to Hoedspruit. In Boksburg...

A screenshot taken on May 21, 2019 of a post on Aerotel's Facebook page

And in Polokwane ten days later, as claimed by the misleading posts…

A screenshot taken on May 21, 2019 of a post on Aerotel's Facebook page

And finally on arrival in Hoedspruit.

A screenshot taken on May 21, 2019 of a post on Aerotel's Facebook page

Aerotel spokeswoman Tracy Den Dunnen told AFP the plane being spotted in Polokwane was not a publicity stunt or intended to lead people to believe the plane had crash-landed -- but company staff did enjoy the humour of people thinking it was.

“We didn’t really publicize the whole event,” she said, although the company did brand “the fuselage (main body of the aircraft) for the exposure”.

“Initially we thought it was going to be five days on the national road but it ended up being nine days,” she added.

Aerotel says the plane-hotel is the first of its kind in South Africa and possibly the continent. The team aims to be up and running in September/October 2019.

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