wheelbay
10th Jun 2005, 09:03
It was all Russian to pilot
10/06/2005 09:46 - (SA)
Norman Silke
Port Elizabeth - Pushbuttons spaced too close to each other and the inability to read Russian last weekend caused extreme consternation when the two fuel tanks of an L29 jet plane were jettisoned from thousands of metres above the ground and landed on Free State soil.
Athol Franz, editor of African Pilot magazine, utilised the opportunity after a recent air show in East London to thumb a lift aboard one of the Russian training jets for research purposes.
According to Franz he and the pilot were on their way to Bloemfontein airport last Saturday when the incident occurred.
"The L29 jet is used as a training aircraft and for this purpose the cabin is divided into two sections.
"The person being trained sits in the front section and the instructor behind him," Franz said.
He told Die Burger that he is writing an article on the L29 and was in the process of meticulously studying the instrument panel while in flight.
"Under the panel is a button to print out the data captured by the various instruments on board.
"However, it is very difficult to see this and to complicate matters the indications for use are in Russian," Franz said.
Next to this button is the button that releases the two fuel tanks and, in the process of trying to get a printout, Franz's finger touched the wrong button.
Luckily the tanks were empty and more luckily they struck the ground in an open field near Smithfield, a Free State hamlet.
"We have now replaced all the buttons in this type of aircraft, made them bigger with protective covers and also translated the instructions into English," Franz said.
He says the incident was immediately reported to the civil aviation authority and is now in the past.
Moses Sehatse, spokesperson for the CAA, said Thursday he was not aware of the incident.
10/06/2005 09:46 - (SA)
Norman Silke
Port Elizabeth - Pushbuttons spaced too close to each other and the inability to read Russian last weekend caused extreme consternation when the two fuel tanks of an L29 jet plane were jettisoned from thousands of metres above the ground and landed on Free State soil.
Athol Franz, editor of African Pilot magazine, utilised the opportunity after a recent air show in East London to thumb a lift aboard one of the Russian training jets for research purposes.
According to Franz he and the pilot were on their way to Bloemfontein airport last Saturday when the incident occurred.
"The L29 jet is used as a training aircraft and for this purpose the cabin is divided into two sections.
"The person being trained sits in the front section and the instructor behind him," Franz said.
He told Die Burger that he is writing an article on the L29 and was in the process of meticulously studying the instrument panel while in flight.
"Under the panel is a button to print out the data captured by the various instruments on board.
"However, it is very difficult to see this and to complicate matters the indications for use are in Russian," Franz said.
Next to this button is the button that releases the two fuel tanks and, in the process of trying to get a printout, Franz's finger touched the wrong button.
Luckily the tanks were empty and more luckily they struck the ground in an open field near Smithfield, a Free State hamlet.
"We have now replaced all the buttons in this type of aircraft, made them bigger with protective covers and also translated the instructions into English," Franz said.
He says the incident was immediately reported to the civil aviation authority and is now in the past.
Moses Sehatse, spokesperson for the CAA, said Thursday he was not aware of the incident.