Johannesburg — The pilot who flew the L-39 Albatros that crashed at the Klerksdorp Air Show in the North West province on Saturday morning was confirmed dead by the provincial department of community safety.

"Yes indeed our officials confirmed that the pilot died during the crash," spokesman Simon Mope said.

The man's identity could not be made public as his next of kin needed to be informed.

Mope said no one else was injured in the crash, but the road next to the airport leading to Stilfontein was still closed as debris littered the road.

"We are not certain what caused the crash. It's only been a couple of hours."

Mope said the cause of the crash, which happened shortly before 10am, would need to be investigated.

Investigators from the Civil Aviation Authority were at the scene to assess the situation.

Earlier the SA National Defence Force confirmed the Albatros was a civilian aircraft.