Black Coffee explained that while he was on a South American tour, he only had three shows left but things soon went things awry. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo / Independent Newspapers
Grammy Award winning musician Black Coffee whose real name is Nkosinathi Maphumulo has finally opened up about his flight accident.
In an interview with Kaya FM’s Thabo ‘Tbose’ Mokwele, the DJ said he saw his life flash before his very eyes during the January 5th plane crash.
“It was not quick. That was the most painful thing about this incident... And then I woke up in the hospital. It happened for maybe a minute, it gave me time to think while it was happening. I had time to pray while it was happening. I had time to hope that it was not going to be over,” said the DJ.
He went on to say that he genuinely thought that his life was over and that he was dying.
Black Coffee explained that he was on a South American tour at the time, with three shows left.
“I had done a show in Brazil and I was flying to Argentina.I had been using a bigger plane on this tour and this was the last leg and I was flying privately.
“The plane looked old and I took a picture of its floor. It looked like no one was using it. I felt uneasy you know.”
He added that when the flight took off and reached cruising altitude, he reclined his seat and listened to a gospel album.
“I took a nap and woke up to something that felt like a dream or nightmare and the plane was shaking violently. I opened my eyes and everyone was trying to hold on.
“Because I was sleeping, it felt like I was on a rolling car. But it was moving so violently. I fell on the floor and I still had my headphones. And the gospel song was still playing. It kept repeating ‘Hallelujah’ that made it feel like a dream because I was like, ‘What is going on here?’ and it was on loop. The song’s volume kept getting higher and higher and it felt like I had this choir or angel singing to save me,” said Black Coffee.
The famous DJ recalled that everyone was just trying to hold on, when suddenly, the planned dipped and he hit the ceiling as a result.“
Black Coffee became unconscious as a result. He went on to say that the plane’s interior was destroyed but it still kept flying. “The oxygen masks were hanging and even the glass I had used to drink water was broken, even my eye glasses were broken.”
Amid this catastrophic event, he was feeling a sensation of pain in his back.
He described it as sharp pain that he could not see or determine. Supposedly the aeroplane had to land in Uruguay as a result of the complications.
“We landed and I was taken by an ambulance and a five-hour surgery was scheduled for the next day because my upper spinal cord was damaged so I had to have metal embedded on it. Now I am half man, half machine,” he joked.
IOL