The long-awaited West Coast airshow finally arrived and unfortunately the weather did not play its part. When the airshow finally got going, tragedy struck.
A year ago, at the Stellenbosch airshow, I bumped into my old friend from KZN Air Tour days, Clive Coetzee who told me he was planning to have his airshow the following year and to alternate with Stellenbosch airshow. He asked me for help to maybe get some displays. I introduced him to Kishugu Aviation/Working on Fire team and suggested some other pilots who could maybe display. He also asked me to run the media part as I had done for him in the KZN Air Tour days.
So, a year on and we were at Saldanha airfield for the airshow. Clive had changed the dates to March as in the past he had run the airshow in September and the weather had been an issue. Unfortunately, Clive’s luck did not hold and we were greeted with some pretty bad weather yet again. Low clouds, misty rain, not conducive for flying.
The weather did clear late afternoon on Friday so that some aircraft could get through including the Impala and a few aircraft from Stellenbosch.
Saturday was not much better and we sat around waiting for the clouds to lift. In the meantime, we were given a display of radio controlled aircraft – a fantastic looking Sea Fury very much like Stu Davidsons aircraft, a Typhoon jet fighter and a few other jets and a biplane none of which I knew so apologies to the pilots. The flying was superb and masterful. Those guys really know how to fly.
Around 14:15, the weather started to lift and the Gyro was sent up to measure the ceiling which turned out to be around 1500 feet – enough to get aircraft in the air for their displays.
First aircraft/pilot off the ground was Derek Lord in the Bosbok – always a crowd favourite showing its maneuverability and some steep turns and climbs. Derek is a master of the Bosbok and has been seen many times at Stellenbosch airshow.
Following the Bosbok was the Magni Gyro flown by Andre van Zyl who did a really nice job of displaying the Gyro. He also had Dean Wingrin up for crowd shots at some stage before the flying started.
The Marksmen Aerobatic Team led by Mark Hensman with position #2 Gary Glasson and Eugene Du Preez at #3 took off for a high energy display, thrilling the crowd of approximately 4000 spectators. Drawing a heart in the sky was a crowd favourite. Mark’s signature low inverted pass along the runway at the end of the display was greeted with cheers and clapping. This really great team are always a welcome addition to any airshow.
Then came the one that many had come to see. ZU-IMP is one of the most famous aircraft on the South African circuit along with aircraft like the Mirage 3 “Black Widow” that used to grace our skies. The Impala took off and the display was going well until the dirty configuration roll which we have seen so many time performed by Mike Weingartz in so many displays countrywide.
To my eye, it seemed to enter the roll a bit slowly but it was hard to tell being on the ground. The Impala suddenly dived and lost altitude very quickly. I took a deep breath and Brian Emmenis stopped talking as we watched the aircraft skim over the hangars, hoping that the aircraft would emerge the other side. Unfortunately, it did not and we all were stunned by the result. All I can say is that I am sure James O’Connell was pulling hard to get control of his aircraft.
First responders raced to the scene and we all hoped for a good result. Not to be.
All around, people were in shock – youngsters behind me were in a great deal of despair and they will never forget the crash. Many other people had to be helped as they had fainted. Capital Sounds Brian Emmenis was a star, having been involved with many such events over the years and called for calm and told everyone that if they needed help to please contact the broadcast team who directed medics to them.
I feel so sorry for Clive Coetzee and his team who put his heart and soul into this airshow.
On behalf of the Pilots Post team, our deepest condolences to the family and friends of James. RIP sir….
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