Pretoria: The South African Air Force (SAAF) will always has denied that political pressure had anything to do with the appointment of the new pilot of the presidential jet, Inkwazi.
Lieutenant-Colonel Nhlan-hla Dube - a relative of the director-general in the presidency Frank Chikane - was appointed a member of the SAAF Reserve Force in August and received his gold wings in October - just two months after he first piloted the Inkwazi.
Dube's appointment and the subsequent decision to award him gold wings has caused unhappiness among SAAF pilots, who claim that the 33-year-old pilot has boasted about his family ties to Chikane.
A boastful young pilot, think I'll take another flight.
They say he underwent only a morning's basic training and two days of officer training before being made a Lieutenant-Colonel.
The accelerated course obviously.
| Did he learn to take off and land or just learn to steer? |
Under normal circumstances permanent force members would undergo months of courses and staff training before becoming an officer. Dube's roster at SAA had been conveniently adjusted to allow him time off to fly the Presidential Jet as part of his Reserve Force duties.
Could you please define the term "normal" in SA?
SANDF spokesman Colonel Petrus Motlhabane said Dube had applied for, and was given, a post that was advertised with the aim of making the SA Reserve Force more representative. The "vast number of incident-free flying hours of Lt-Col Dube on similar type aircraft at SAA justified an executive decision by the SAAF to award golden wings to this member", said Motlhabane.
"Executive decision" vs training and qualifications, lovely.
Something fishy about the new Inkwazi pilot, no pun intended. (Inkwazi is Zulu for the Fish Eagle) |