View Full Version : B206 on Drakensberg-South Africa
I've heard something on the news about a B206 that has landed on top of the Drakensberg in South Africa, with a minister or someone very important and had to night stop. Anyone got the full story?
cavortingcheetah
16th Jan 2005, 12:14
:O
Nothing that I can find in today's Star newspaper about this.
It would be fun though especially if your minister was a churchman. :E
Solid Rust Twotter
16th Jan 2005, 13:22
There's something about it on Avcom.
BAKELA
16th Jan 2005, 15:31
Not minister - MEC (and of course his cronies) from KZN - flight to a funeral and back - bad weather caused "forced landing" - for me that reads a precautionary but the press corps don't know the diffs. Funny thing is, a SAAF Oryx evacuated/rescued them (at our expense I suspect) when weather improved the next day. Why did the 206 not complete the flight after a precuationary due to weather? Fuel? No more gen.
Sir Cumference
17th Jan 2005, 14:28
The facts as I know are as follows. Minister wants to attend funeral, charters helicopter (who pays?) and goes. On the way back the flight encounters bad weather which appears to be in layers. Decision made to climb and clear weather is encountered but not for long. Eventually a gap is seen and a decision is made to go through the gap and land. Safely done. Now the said Minister is not happy because he has places to go to and demands that they get airborne and go. Weather closes in and they remain on the mountain for the whole of Sunday and only get taken off on Monday!
An attempt was made on Sunday to start the machine but it was not successful and shortly therafter the weather closed again. the interesting thing is the debate that occurred in the mean time. Cabinet Ministers demanding that a helicopter be sent to 'rescue' them and if nobody locally could do it they would use firstly helcopters from Joburg and then helicopters from Lesotho because they know about flying in bad weather! I hear that the viz was down to less than 100m im mist.
A good decsion is not always a popular decsion with the pax. Hopefully this man will appreciate that he is still alive and will get to go to more functions at tax payers expense! Well done to the driver!