Kevin Roy Winterbottom ( 1955 to 9 June 1976 ) was a South African Air Force ( SAAF ) pilot who chose to avoid crashing his stricken Impala jet aircraft in the Monument Park suburb of Pretoria by remaining with his aircraft to the end . He was posthumously awarded the 25th Honoris Crux decoration for bravery , the first such award for gallantry outside battle . The HC was at the time South Africa 's highest military decoration that could be awarded in peacetime
Honoris Crux
Honoris Crux (1975)
Kevin Winterbottom