You will also land in a dam if you continue to fly badly!
Date: 2 July 2009
The following is a rough translation of an Afrikaans article that appeared in the Beeld newspaper:
The recent helicopter accident in which two airforce pilots and a flight engineer drowned in a dam in KwaZulu-Natal has resulted in a charge of racism.
A student pilot from the airforce's Central Flying School at Langebaanweg in the Western Cape has laid a charge after an instructor told him that if he (the student) continues to fly so badly, he (the student) would also end up in a dam.
This occurred during a recent training camp in Bloemfontein where the skills of the students of the flying school were accessed.
It is believed that the words were uttered in the cockpit of the training aircraft where only the student and the instructor could hear it.
The charge was lodged with higher authority before it was landed with airforce top management.
The airforce acknowledged yesterday that the students' allegation was investiged. The investigation is complete, but the findings have not yet been released.
The allegation has reached Gen. Godfrey Ngwenya, Chief of the defence force.
The defence force said yesterday that they would comment later this week.
One of the aspects of the investigation was the context in which the instructor made the comment and if the student interpreted it incorrectly.
The charge has in the meantime caused debate on Facebook where charges of racism at the flight school were made.
The instructor is believed to be Indian and the student black, but the accusations on the social webpage describe it as an example of racism.
The flying school has a history of tension between the instructors and the students which were so serious that Zimbabwean flying instructors were appointed to calm the situation.
Three senior instructors give up their authority earlier this year over concerns about the dropping of flying instruction standards. One has since resigned.
That step came about after two students who had received 300 red entries were allowed to continue flying with another squadron with the requirement that they obtain their wings within a few months.
Thereafter two other students execute their landings so badly within a period of four days that three training aircraft may have to be written-off.
The instructors believe that their authority cannot be reduced further and the students know this.
They believe the students take their problems to the highest levels too easily.
