In fact the LDF (Air Wing) has had a prang or two before. The starboard window of a Shed (Short Skyvan) “became detached in flight”, hit something and caused a bit of grief. I think it was in 1987 ??? No-one hurt apart from the usual ego damage.
Also one of the Bolkows pranged a couple years later when the pilot made a low fast run, hooked a skid in a tree, pulled up to have a bit of a think, lost a lot of fuel quickly and pranged with great style. The local paper said came out with the unforgettable headline “ Lt Thaane crashes helicopter and survives – the Nation rejoices !”
At least I think that’s what happened. Nice to see a country with the right attitude to pilots, ek se. They were very skilled in their role in those days, whizzing round the mountains.