Air Force mum on rumours that crash pilot failed written exams three times
Date: 2 October 2004
The SA Air Force will investigate allegations that a trainee pilot who crashed an aircraft near Langebaan this week had repeatedly failed his written examinations and should not have been allowed to fly.
According to a report this week, the trainee pilot who crashed the Astra training aircraft had failed his written exams three times. He had been allowed to continue learning to fly, even though official Air Force policy was that trainees who failed the written examination more than once were kicked off the pilot training course.
Air Force spokesman Lieutenant Ronald Maseko said all the allegations would form part of an internal Air Force investigation into the crash.
Maseko said that in cases of trainees failing their exams they would "obviously not be allowed to fly", but allegations that the trainee involved had failed exams repeatedly was "pure speculation" at this stage.
"It is not fair to speculate in this way, because you could be mixing him (the trainee pilot) up with someone else," Maseko said.
The Air Force would investigate the circumstances of the crash to determine whether pilot error or a faulty aircraft was the cause of the accident. "They will also speak to the pilot and investigate all these allegations," Maseko said.
The trainee had not been suspended and would continue with the training programme. "We can't suspend someone if at the end of the day we find that it was not his fault," Maseko said.
He would provide no further comment, except to say that all would be revealed after the final report had been presented to the Chief of the Defence Force.
Saturday Argus
