WAirlink Flight 8911 was a positioning flight from Durban International Airport to Pietermaritzburg Airport, South Africa, that crashed into the grounds of Merebank Secondary School, Durban shortly after take-off on 24 September 2009, injuring the three occupants of the aircraft and one on the ground. The captain of the flight subsequently died of his injuries on 7 October 2009. The first on scene was Brian Govindsamy, who is a local resident. He allegedly tried to rescue the crew by breaking down the plane door. It is, however, still not certain how many of the crew he managed to save.
WThe 2009 Harmony Gold mine deaths occurred in late May and early June 2009 in Free State province, South Africa. At least 82 miners, many from Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, died from inhalation of poisonous gasses created by a May 18 fire in the mineshaft.
WMiss World 2009, the 59th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 12 December 2009 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. 112 contestants from all over the world competed for the crown, marking the biggest turnout in the pageant's history. Ksenia Sukhinova of Russia crowned her successor Kaiane Aldorino of Gibraltar at the end of event. It is the first time that someone from Gibraltar won Miss World. In the past, people from mainland Britain have won.
WThe MV Seli 1 was a Turkish bulk carrier, operated by TEB Maritime of Istanbul, that was en route to Gibraltar when it was driven aground off Bloubergstrand near Table Bay by strong westerly winds shortly after midnight on 8 September 2009, having reported engine failure and a snapped anchor chain.
WThe Transnet Freight Rail Class 19E of 2009 is a South African electric locomotive.
WThe Transnet Freight Rail Class 39-200 of 2009 is a South African diesel-electric locomotive.
WThe 2009 Table Mountain fire was a large fire in and around the Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town, South Africa. It broke out at approximately 20:30 on 17 March 2009 in the vicinity of Rhodes Memorial and initial fears were that the fire would spread to UCT's Upper Campus. The Table Mountain National Park quickly deployed firefighting personnel on the mountain, but the fire spread due to the strong winds. At around 23:20 on Tuesday evening, the fire started moving up Devil's Peak and by 00:00 was at the tip and making its way around the mountain to the suburbs of Tamboerskloof, Oranjezicht, Vredehoek and Gardens on the north side. The flames were engulfing the mountain and the huge amounts of smoke made it hard for rescue and fire-fighting helicopters making their way to the fire. By 00:30, people from the aforementioned areas were told to evacuate due to the strong winds pushing the fire around the mountain. By this time, Fire & Rescue Services had deployed 29 fire engines and 90 firefighters who were assisted by 45 firefighters from the South African National Parks and volunteers of Disaster Management
WThe Trillion Dollar Campaign is an outdoor advertising campaign launched in 2009 to promote the newspaper The Zimbabwean in South Africa. The campaign was created by advertising agency TBWA Hunt Lascaris in conjunction with the Zimbabwean's marketing manager, Liz Linsell, with the goal of both increasing awareness of the newspaper itself, and of the growing problems of hyperinflation in Zimbabwe and increasing restrictions on free speech by the government. The Trillion Dollar Campaign made extensive use of Zimbabwean banknotes, repurposing them as printing paper for handouts, billboards, and poster advertisements. The campaign was highly successful, and gathered significant publicity; first in other South African newspapers, then in other media such as television and radio, and finally in international publications such as The Guardian and The Times. The Trillion Dollar Campaign went on to win several honours from the marketing community, receiving Golds at The Art Directors Club Awards and the ANDY Awards, and taking home the Grand Prix in the Outdoor category of the 2009 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, the most prestigious awards ceremony in the advertising industry.