Student and instructor robbed after crash-landing in South Africa

In Kenya, we have seen dramatic scenes of individuals looting trucks and vehicles after an accident. We all remember the Salgaa tragedy when a fuel truck exploded as members of the public helped themselves to the petrol. Similar incidents have been reported in Uganda. Remembering the „fulu fulu condition“ incident where a drunken gentleman was trying to explain how the truck accident had happened after having one too many. While this is rare in the aviation industry, South Africans have shown the world that even in a plane crash, your belongings are not safe. A student and an instructor survived without injuries after successfully landing in a field in South Africa on Tuesday this week. They were flying the Piper Cherokee, PA 28, which developed problems which possibly could have been an engine failure over Capetown at 1800 hrs. After making the forced landing, a crowd of residents in Lower Crossroads, Cape Town, surrounded the duo, not to help them but to rob them. As they „spoilt“ themselves with the pilots‘ personal belongings, the instructor was on the radio with the tower, reporting the robbery live. The police were dispatched together with a rescue crew. The residents attempted to hurl stones at the police to protect their loot, but they were subdued and the scene was finally secured. This is the second crash-landing incident for the flying school in a span of one month. The other incident took place on June 1 on a road, forcing motorists to duck for cover. [Jimmy Wanjala]