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The last two airmen killed in Tuesday's helicopter crash in KwaZulu-Natal were named on Saturday as Lieutenant Simon Baloyi and Flight Sergeant Mone Zuidmeer. Baloyi, 27, was the pilot and Zuidmeer, 32, the flight engineer, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement. The third occupant of the helicopter, Captain Bongani Mdluli, 34, was named earlier in the week. The three South African Air Force (SAAF) members died when their Agusta A109 helicopter crashed into the Woodstock Dam, in the upper Tugela area, during a training flight in Dragon's Peak Park on Tuesday. Divers immediately embarked on a search of the dam for the men's bodies and the wreckage of the aircraft.
Mdluli's remains were found on Wednesday. The commander of the helicopter, he joined the SAAF in 2000 and received his pilot wings in 2003. He was based at the Swartkop Air Force Base, in Pretoria at the time of the death. He lived in Riverlea, Johannesburg. Baloyi's body was recovered at 11.15am on Saturday about 300m from the site of the recovered wreckage, after it was seen by a pilot during an aerial search, the ministry said. From Majaneng in Hammanskraal, he joined the SAAF in 2002 and received his pilot wings in 2005. He is survived by his mother, Joyce, sisters Masego and Anna, and a brother Lebogang. Zuidmeer's remains had been recovered just hours earlier at 8am after local inhabitants saw his floating body and alerted the police, the ministry said. He joined the SAAF in 1997, received his flight engineer wings in 2005, completed his flight engineer course in 2006 and received his silver flight engineer wings in 2008. Zuidmeer, of Centurion, in Pretoria is survived by his mother, Stella, his father Sakkie, who himself is a former SAAF helicopter pilot, and his sister Zonia."Funeral arrangements will be announced once they have been confirmed by the families," the ministry said.
21 Opinion(s):
I can almost guarantee this is yet another example of the deadliness of Kaffirmative Action. I feel sorry for the white guys who have to fly with these morons. Very few Blacks possess the basic intelligence and anticipatory abilities to drive cars and minibuses safely let alone aircraft, and helicopters are the most difficult of all.
But blacks - aided and abetted by bed-wetting self-delusionary liberals - insist they are equal in every respect so they will continually try to prove it by saying "look, us blacks can do anything whitey can do" and recklessly endanger the lives of whites in these "adult" ventures.
And when shit happens - like it did here - you can be sure there will be a cover-up if any incompetence was involved which, knowing blacks, there almost certainly was..!
Dont fly SAA...EVER..!!!
Sounds like the Flight Engineer was more quailified than the two pilots, BUT being "white" was made to climb the ranks to become a flight engineer even though he most probably would've made a better pilot: his father had been a SAAF Helicopter Pilot and it's well known that Boers make the best pilots, while I've yet to hear of a succesful Sotho or Nguni Pilot!
If it goes on like this, eventually there will be no Air Force left. As for SAA, I suspect we are due for a major disaster soon.
What kind of a world do you people live in?Are you in any way lacking something in your lives that you have to be so thick!This kinda s**t really amazes me,I can never understand it.What does color have to do with it?You moan and groan about the lack of skill in black pilots and yet that was a training execise? WTF are they supposed to train?You hear about these type of accidents in other countries and yet you make it sound like it's only happening here.If it was an all white crew you would've probably found something else to shift the blame to the goverment.F****n Safas,all we good for is complaining.Everyone has a story to tell and best you get over it.I actually feel sorry for you lot cause you probably throw smiles at the black people you interact with but walk around with this bitterness inside of you.It's going to eat at you till you get to your grave.Keep patting each other on the back about how "right" your opinions are...and you wonder why the ANC(and Im not a fan) is still in power?Because they know people like you still exist and will use it to their advantage(I know I would).My friends, only the strong survive.
Condolences to the familes and friends of the deceased.May their souls rest in peace.
@Anon 08:03. You are welcome to remain ignorant and in a state of denial. We decry the loss of standards. Moreover, you haven't placed the article in context. You need to read about the reported decline at the SAAF. Finally, we accept that accidents happen, but not when there is an overwhelming body of evidence suggesting that these are happening as a result of incompetence and the rejection of the best possible candidates. Anyway, excuse I need to go and rehearse kumbayah.
Anon claims he is not a "fan" of the ANC. Sounds like a half-hearted repudiation to me - maybe he's a fan of APLA?
I expect anons visit is a typical "drive-by shooting" in which case we are wasting our time trying to engage him on this issue. Just in case he does I would like to ask him if he agrees with the policy of Affirmative Action. Because if he does then it is the height of hypocrisy for him to accuse us of being racist.
Like the devil-childs they are, the ANC - and "educated" blacks like anon - want to show that they are equal in every way to whites.
But they also know that if black pilots (etc) had to achieve the same high standard as whites, very few if any of them would ever achieve the necessary standards.
Thus they will go to desperate and dangerous lengths to fast-track - and cut corners in the training of black pilots, etc What better way to "prove" black equality than to have them playing with white (adult) toys?
And after the inevitable tragedy like this one - and there have been a number of similar cases - there will be a massive cover-up of the truth. And as soon as any whitey dares to suggest it was due to Kaffirmative action and the lowering of standards - "outraged" blacks like anon will holler "racist..!"
And so the cover-ups - and the inevitable tragedies - will continue.
Wow,I am appalled by the comments here! Do any of you even call yourselves human, like really?I, personally know some brilliant black pilots, who had to work 10 times harder than their white counterparts, just because they were black and this people went on to prove themselves. Black pilots do not have it easy, because of peopple like you, and to be honest, I would fly with a black pilot anytime.
@Anon 3:57. You are obviously new to the scene. Your personal anecdotes do not amount to evidence, and your insidious implications of racism are racist in itself, when by-and-large, nobody is making a race issue of this incident. As Bantu Education said, you are probably a "drive-by shooter" and therefore not worth the trouble. If you want to engage us, come with some well reasoned and intelligent material.
@ anon,
I'm surprised you've come back but you didn't answer my question about AA. Do you agree with it or not? Simple yes or no please, no waffling about "past discrimination" and all that nonsense.
If your "brilliant black pilots" had to work 10x harder I suspect it was because they were not up to standard and only got their wings after repeated failures due to the usual lowering of standards for blacks - and whites fear of being accused of racism - which is exactly what you are doing to us now.
And if black pilots are so good why are there virtually none on international routes - all of the better African airlines tend not to employ black chief pilots.
And many Russians and Ukrainians are employed flying cargo planes etc, in Africa - why is that I wonder? They might be cheaper to employ than westerners but surely they're dearer than local Africans?
2 Bantu ed and Van ice
1. Accident happened in 2007 oct involving white cmdr,considered experienced,1 passenger died couple critically injured. The following day he was in the air,wat can we say? he is WHITE...
2. In LBWG 1 student got sick(2weeks) he was off course,black is not the colour. A year later,someone got sick,6 weeks +,he was white, never withdrawn from course. same guy landed off the runway nearly killed himself n aircraft destroyed. he completed. On his conversion, he repeated the same thing. u know what, he's still flying. hope u fly with him. good luck
3. Have u ever had of wimpy departure? 3 exp aircrew.....
4. There's more White hidden stories if u want to here them...
"Very few Blacks possess the basic intelligence and anticipatory abilities". U still think if u white the sky is the limit???
Yes i believe in AA. U had ur chance. Black ppl are still very new in the aviation world. Believe u me they are getting there.
aa
NB: plz names remain anonymous from previous comment
To the owner's approval
Flying is not a job, it is a passion. but unfortunatley the blek man finks flying is a job. A true pilot eats,sleeps,thinks flying. There is truth to the fact that if there are 20 people in a room, how do you know which one is a pilot? he tells you!. Why, because he is all consumed by his passion.It is not a job. Gettit. show me a black pilot, and i will show you my train ticket. ooops they have f*cked that mode of transport up already. Given the ratio of white/black pilots in the aviation industry, the blek pilots have a higher fault ratio. Blame it on apart hate. But bleks can't fly. Full f*cking stop!
@ previous anon, now shao85...
I commend you for having the courage to come back and (hopefully) debate this matter intelligently. You have to understand we are always subjected to "drive-by shootings".
As for your mentions of incidents where white pilots having made errors - well I'll try to ignore that - its simply childish and not worthy of further comment.
You admit that you agree with AA.
But dont you see that the very existence of AA (which basically entails lowering standards so that more blacks can "qualify") is the very reason why we are so suspicious of black "pilots".
If there were no AA - and blacks had to achieve stringent "white standards - we would have no problem with black pilots.
But, if that were indeed the case, there would be NO BLACK PILOTS..!
Because, until proved otherwise, blacks simply dont possess the right skills to be good pilots..!
As long as AA exists BLACKS WILL NOT BE TRUSTED..! And that is why you have to get rid of whites isn't it? So that you will not be compared unfavourably with us..!
I think this discussion is already above your level of comprehension.
Better for you to go ahead with the killing and ethnic-cleansing which I am sure you are dreaming of - then you will only have other blacks to compare with..!
I read this topic with disgust. Assumptions are made with very little knowledge and through that the memories of these men, who were in service of the state (that includes all of you guys), are tainted.
Firstly, just so that you don't think this is an anonymous drive-by shooting, this is me: I am a white male. I am a helicopter pilot in the SAAF. I have worked with pilots from all races and genders and have experienced affirmative action first hand. I also knew these gentlemen well and have flown with all 3 of them.
I agree that affirmative action is happening among pilots in the SAAF, but no-one has yet become a captain (commander) on a helicopter that did not deserve to be one. The pilot of the A109 that crashed did not get any special treatment or second chances to get where he was, and I have truly never before seen anybody with more passion for his "job" than Simon.
As far as covering up the accident is concerned, this will never happen. The SAAF's Directorate of Aviation Safety strongly believes that all factors of an accident needs to be discussed to be learned from. If needed, blame will be put on individuals or management regardless of political correctness. Just for sake of interest, all members of the Board Of Inquiry appointed to this accident are white.
Bottom line: "Pilot Error" accidents will happen to pilots of all races. As for me, there are some black pilots I won't fly with and there are some white pilots I won't fly with.
Feel free to retract any statements made, now that you are more informed. I feel you owe it to these people who would have risked their lives to save your sorry butts if needed.
@ Stefan, thank you for your input. You are entitled to your opinion and I will remind you that it is just that, an opinion. People are rightly concerned that AA may have had a part to play in this accident when the push is for more blacks to become pilots come what may. The record of AA in post-1994 SA is not exactly basked in success stories.
Granted the particular black pilot may have set his heart and soul into becoming the best pilot he could be - but was he the best candidate? My tax dollars paying for his training requires nothing less.
It is legitimate to assume that while the policy of AA and BEE etc is in place, doubts will always remain that pilots of colour will have attained their status through forced social engineering. What needs to happen is that prospective pilots need to be graded on merit alone, the job requires nothing else as lives are at stake, the pilots' lives included.
Tinker with AA in non life-threatening areas if you must but there are some things that just should never accept anything but the best a country can produce, be it the defence force, police, airlines etc.
I agree that affirmative action is happening among pilots in the SAAF, but no-one has yet become a captain (commander) on a helicopter that did not deserve to be one. The pilot of the A109 that crashed did not get any special treatment or second chances to get where he was, and I have truly never before seen anybody with more passion for his "job" than Simon.
Regardless of what you say – I would wager good money that blacks DO in fact get 2nd and 3rd chances (whereas whites would not) and that most of those who do in the end “qualify”, do so only by the colour of their skin and by the skin of their teeth.
Maybe you are too young to remember but, not long after “liberation”, black SAA pilot trainees were pulled out of South African pilot schools (because they had too many apartheid-era “racists” back then) and sent to be trained at fabulous expense in Australia. Apparently that was also not very successful, so then they switched back to SA schools which by then had presumable purged all the old-school racists who insisted on “white standards”.
Stefan - whatever your true feelings on AA, the very fact that you are currently flying with the SAAF puts you in the unenviable position where you are forced to pay lip-service to AA (even if you despise it, which I suspect you do) and where you feel duty bound to defend “Simon” against our racist insinuations that, in spite of his “passion”, he was not quite up to white standards. It certainly helps to have “passion” for what one is doing in life, but passion does not substitute for raw ability.
Call me a racist and a bigot Stefan but whenever I hear an overblown piece of praise-singing like “I have truly never before seen anybody with more passion for his "job" than Simon” – I would bet confidently that the object of the praise is a black.
Now just supposing instead of saying what you did, you wrote in using a pseudonym saying (shock-horror) that you agreed 100% with us and that AA had gone too far, etc Would that not trigger such outrage that an “internal investigation” (enormous witch-hunt) aimed at “outing” the racist helicopter pilot would have been launched? “Stefan” may be a pseudonym, but I suspect not and, as the SAAF can’t have more than a hundred or two helicopter pilots, there might well be only one “Stefan”.
So I am going to go out on a limb by speculating that – for services to AA and his maudlin bit of “racist-bashing” - Stefan is right now in the midst of an orgy of self-congratulatory back-slapping with his AA pilot colleagues and quite possibly his AA superiors. Smart career move Stefan..!
Doberman: "You are entitled to your opinion and I will remind you that it is just that, an opinion."
It is however an informed opinion based on first hand knowledge, as opposed to pure speculation.
Doberman: "Granted the particular black pilot may have set his heart and soul into becoming the best pilot he could be - but was he the best candidate? My tax dollars paying for his training requires nothing less."
Refer to my statement that "no-one has yet become a captain (commander) on a helicopter that did not deserve to be one". The standards held in this respect are VERY high. Rest assured our tax dollars were put to good use.
BE: "whatever your true feelings on AA, the very fact that you are currently flying with the SAAF puts you in the unenviable position where you are forced to pay lip-service to AA"
Firstly... not true. This country still has freedom of speech and I can say whatever I want, just not as an official spokesperson of the SAAF.
Secondly... nowhere did I pay lip-service to AA.
Thirdly... My opinion of AA is of no consequence to this matter and does not change the facts of this accident at all.
BE: "Call me a racist and a bigot Stefan..."
That would just be a personal attack, which is not my intention. My intention here is just to give you some more information and to see whether you might admit that you judged too quickly.
BE: "Now just supposing instead of saying what you did, you wrote in using a pseudonym saying... ...there might well be only one “Stefan”.
If I wanted to agree with you, I could have done it under a pseudonym, yes. But I didn't. So no point in speculating about what-ifs again. By the way, there are 3 helicopter pilots in the SAAF named Stefan.
BE: "So I am going to go out on a limb by speculating... "
Let's rather not do that.
@ Stefan, who said...
This country still has freedom of speech and I can say whatever I want
Nobody believes that Stefan.
As an employee of the ANC regime you know as well as we all do that you cannot afford to show the slightest sympathy with our (passive) "racist" opinions that AA ("active racism") is lowering standards all around.
The mouthing of politically-correct platitudes does not change the reality - any discussion of racial differences in ability is strictly verboten in this country and many good people have lost their jobs for daring to cross that line.
I'll say it again - AA would not be needed if there WERE no race differences as claimed. The very fact that there is AA proves that THERE ARE racial differences in ability. Tell that to your AA superiors and then come back and tell me "there is still freedom of speech".
@ Stefan,
Re what I said earlier about SAA's AA program with black pilots, etc.. please read this
http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2009/06/black_empowerme.php
Unfortunately the article is 6 years old but don't make the mistake of assuming things have got better since. What about the recent arrests at Heathrow of 2 entire crews on drug-smuggling cahrges?
I dont know how many "emerging pilots" SAA has now - I'm going to bet its not something they are going to rush out and advertise. As long as there is a white co-pilot the risk will be reduced but I can imagine the look of horror on most passengers faces if they realise there are 2 AA darkies in the cockpit..!
It can only be a matter of time before a major disaster, followed by the predictable cover-up that AA had absolutely nothing to do with it. Then nasty us, we'll be back making our racist speculations again.
@Stefan, I will take it as a working assumption that your opinion is informed. What intrigues me though, is how you arrive at the assumption that the SAAF standards are "VERY HIGH". Relative to who? I imagine, since you have qualified via the SAAF, that you would have a bias in favour thereof, thinking that you are the cream of the crop. If this is so, your opinion is hardly impartial and perhaps not so informed.
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