Tributes to Scottish professor and wildlife expert killed in Namibia plane crash
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Professor Alan Wilson had been in Namibia researching the Oryx antelope
Tributes have been paid to a Scottish professor and wildlife expert who has died in a plane crash in Namibia during a research trip.
Professor Alan Wilson, 62, died when the light aircraft he was travelling in crashed in the Namib Desert shortly after take off. Pilot Neil Oakman, 63, was also killed.
Professor Wilson and Mr Oakman had been in Namibia researching the Oryx antelope and had been at the remote Gobabeb Research Station in the Namib-Naukluft National Park for a week.
Fellow researcher John Lowe raised the alarm when the pair did not return to the station as planned.
Professor Wilson, a graduate of veterinary science at Glasgow University, was an expert in the musculoskeletal systems of athletic animals and their high-performance locomotion.
He worked for the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) , where he was the head of the Structure and Motion Laboratory, and widely contributed his expertise to BBC documentaries including Big Cats and The Secret Life of Cats.
Professor Stuart Reid CBE, President & Principal at the RVC, described Prof Wilson’s death as an “enormous loss”.
He said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Professor Alan Wilson FRS in this tragic accident.
“Alan has been part of the RVC for 30 years and throughout this time has not only endeared himself to colleagues, students and the wider research community, but has forged an impressive career that has shaped our understanding of biomechanics and high-performance locomotion in both animals and humans.
“This is an enormous loss and one that will be felt by all those who had the privilege of knowing him. Our thoughts are with Alan’s family, friends and those colleagues closest to him.”
The University of Glasgow’s School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine also released a statement.
It said: “It was with great sadness that we heard the news that Professor Alan Wilson died on Wednesday 4 March in a light aircraft accident during a research flight in Namibia.
“Our thoughts are with Anna and the rest of Alan's family, as well as his colleagues and friends.”
Prof Wilson returned to his alma mater in 2019 to deliver the Weipers Lecture ‘From sprinting cheetah to walking wildebeest: studies of locomotion and physiology in Africa’.
While a student, Prof Wilson was also a prominent member of the Glasgow University Hares & Hounds road and cross-country running club
In a statement, Senior air accident investigator Judith Shomongula, said: “Three British nationals, John Lowe, Alan Martin Wilson, 62, and Neil Thomas Oakman, 63, came to Namibia on February 25 2026 for research.
“On Wednesday March 4 2026 at about 17.00 we have been told Alan Wilson and Neil Oakman took off to look for collared antelope in the dunes of the Namib.
“At about 19.00 researcher John Lowe started getting worried about his colleagues who were late getting back to the research centre and search of the area was started.
“They later discovered a crashed aircraft at the end of the Gobabeb airstrip. Police were informed and the bodies transported to the Walvis Bay police mortuary.
“We all extend heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.”
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