Another SAAF helicopter down?
Date: 26 July 2011
By Dean Wingrin
It is rumoured that a Rooivalk attack helicopter was damaged last week when it flew through electrical cables.
A posting on a South African aviation website this past weekend mentioned that on Wednesday 20 July, a South African Air Force (SAAF) Rooivalk helicopter had hit wires whilst flying low near Dimbasa in the Eastern Cape.
The SAAF is presently conducting its annual Exercise Winter Solstice, a wargaming event taking place in the Eastern Cape. Dimbasa is located 20km west of King Williams's Town.
This incident preceded the loss of a Cessna 208 Caravan which crashed at Kei Mouth on Saturday. No one was seriously injured in Saturdays' crash, but the aircraft is believed to have been written-off.
In its' report on the Cessna crash, the Daily Dispatch quoted SAAF King William's Town media liaison officer, Captain Victor Khumalo, as saying that Saturday's accident had been "minor" and that "in events like this, a crash such as Saturday's is not completely unexpected."
This lack of confidence in ones' own organization and employer does not say much for SAAF spokespeople. It is not known if Khumalo was confusing Saturday's crash with the Rooivalk incident which occurred on the previous Wednesday.
The website poster went on to state that the Rooivalk was grounded due to the nature of the damage. No injuries were reported in the Rooivalk incident either.
To date no response has been received from multiple enquiries submitted to the SAAF.
Exercise Winter Solstice forces are based at Bhisho and are scheduled to finish on 31 July.
