THE South African Civil Aviation Authority has called on the Durban public to assist them in locating a missing part of an aircraft - crucial to their investigation into a crash.

The SA Airlink aircraft crash-landed last month on school grounds in the city.

SA Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Phindiwe Gwebu said yesterday: "Assistance is requested from the public in the recovery of an engine part that separated from the aircraft."

It was not known at what stage of flight it separated from the engine - or whether someone inadvertently removed it from the wreckage site, Gwebu said.

She said the part in question was known as a "bearing cap cover".

Pilot Alistair Freeman died in a Durban hospital on Wednesday morning as a result of injuries suffered in the crash.

Freeman, First Officer Sonja Bierman and flight attendant Rodelle Oosthuizen crash-landed on the grounds of Merebank school on Heritage Day.

A city worker, Abraham Mthethwa, was seriously injured when the plane came down.

Bierman was recently transferred to a Johannesburg hospital.

Oosthuizen and Mthethwa are receiving treatment at Durban's St Augustine's Hospital.