Originally Posted by
springbok449
Was he actually a Flight Engineer or a Second Officer operating the panel, it was fairly common in SAA that Second Officers operated the panel in lieu of Flight Emgineers on the 747-200, 747-300 and SP prior to becoming First Officers....
When I left SAA as a flight engineer in 1986, all flight engineers were recruited from the "hangars and workshops", with the exception of a few ex SAA 707 navigators who were suitably qualified,
Quite a few SAA flight engineers became pilots during and after my tenure. I still keep in contact with some of my former colleagues from SAA so the scenario you mention must have occurred post September 1986 up to 2004 when the 747 Classic was retired from SAA which, according to reports, had 111 flight engineers present at the "farewell" photo session.