WHITE RIVER – Another technical fault in a South African Air Force (SAAF) aircraft resulted in deputy president, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, returning from Mbombela to Gauteng by car on Sunday.
It was the third time this year that technical difficulties had disrupted Ramaphosa’s schedule, but the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) says it remains confident in its ability to safely transport him on official business.
The deputy president was in Mbombela over the weekend where he was sworn in as chancellor of the University of Mpumalanga on Saturday, and addressed the Mpumalanga Alliance Summit on Sunday.
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The presidency said in a statement on Sunday that the SAAF aircraft transporting him from the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA) to Waterkloof Air Force Base had to turn back shortly after take-off, “after developing technical faults”.
Spokesman for the presidency, Mr Ronnie Mamoepa, said the pilot returned the aircraft safely to the airport and Ramaphosa was driven back home to Johannesburg by his SAPS security detail.
SANDF communications head Mr Siphiwe Dlamini confirmed they had been experiencing challenges with their planes. He explained that in the latest incident the problems were extremely technical and difficult to accurately explain to a layman.
“It was not a normal crack or engine fault, it had to do with technology. “The problem is that these planes are old, 30 years and older. They have reached the point where no matter how often we service them, and we do, there are bound to be faults here and there.”
In March Ramaphosa cancelled a trip to Uitenhage and in January had to return from South Sudan on a commercial flight. In both cases his SAAF planes had experienced technical difficulties.
Dlamini said the SANDF remained confident in its ability to safely transport the deputy president on official business. “If the technicians and pilots were not as competent as they are, they would not have detected the problems. We are trying to make sure safety is adhered to at all times.”
He added that the defence force was looking into implementing processes to mitigate them, but wouldn’t say what, as these were internal matters.
