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DA: Motlanthe's plane may have been unfit to fly

MICHAEL HAMLYN | CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - Sep 18 2009 15:16

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The Democratic Alliance suggested on Friday that the plane carrying Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe may not have been good enough to fly anywhere when it was forced to put down at an unlit airfield in remotest Democratic Republic of Congo while carrying him back from Libya.

James Lorimer, deputy defence spokesperson for the DA, reported "aviation insiders" as saying that modifications to the plane to extend its range meant the flight was undertaken with no working fuel gauge. "If this is correct," Lorimer said, "there is no way this flight should have taken place."

Lorimer also said that the SAAF's 21 Squadron, which is tasked with flying VIPs, has a number of executive jets at its disposal.

"At the top end is the Boeing business jet, the presidential plane. Minister [Lindiwe] Sisulu told the portfolio committee this was not available to fly Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe to Libya because it was still being serviced after another flight," Lorimer said. "But the SAAF also has a Falcon 900 and two Falcon 50s, which would have been at least as good, if not better, than the charter plane that was eventually chosen."

He continued: "The charter plane that was chosen was a DC-9. This is an old aircraft with a reputation for being heavy on fuel and specifications that indicate it would probably need to refuel twice during the trip from Tripoli to Pretoria. The SAAF's Falcon jets all have better ranges than the DC-9."

Lorimer also reported that at the portfolio committee meeting Deputy Defence Minister Thabang Makwetla indicated that when landing at Bangui in the Central African Republic proved impossible, the plane was routed to Gbadolite in the DRC by Bangui air control.

"This is probably a mistake," Lorimer insisted, "as the plane should have filed an alternative destination as part of its flight plan. This then raises questions as to why a flight plan was filed with Gbadolite as an alternative destination when it had no tower and no lights, eventually necessitating the plane to land using its own wing lights and at considerable risk."

The DA spokesperson has written to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to request the documents and will formally ask the CAA to launch a full investigation.

"The circumstances surrounding this flight seem very strange. It is clear the deputy president of South Africa was put in harm's way," he said. "There is information showing he was sent on the wrong plane, on the wrong route. Those who planned this flight should be held accountable." -- I-Net Bridge

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...........and special mention should be made of the pilot. He clearly did a professional job.

Dick Corner on September 18, 2009, 5:46 pm

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