Dundee airfield faces closure as the facility continues to deteriorate
The KZN Air Ambulance Service still uses the runway to fly patients to bigger centres and doctors into the surrounding rural areas but even this service may soon be affected if the situation does not improve.
Pedestrians, roaming cattle and litter galore make the Dundee airfield a hazard for pilots landing on the runway.
Since the Courier first published concerns over the continued deterioration of the facility in July, the situation has worsened.
Local pilot Tom Honiball and a handful of other aviation enthusiasts have tried to maintain the airfield at their own cost.
Honiball was horrified last Friday when he flew in to land from Kleinzee on the West Coast.
“I could not land because of all the cattle and people walking on the runway, and had to phone for help to clear the runway of animals while I circled overhead.
“But the people who came to help me also had to remove loads of bottles and broken glass from the runway. It’s a big mess there! There must have been some event at the airfield and the crowd left behind litter, bottles and glass everywhere. Whoever is responsible needs to buck up and come clear their mess.”
Honiball added that people were walking straight down the runway.
“There were also about 20 cows, grazing next to the runway. It is a dangerous, unacceptable situation.”
The Civic Aviation Authority has de-listed the Dundee airfield and is no longer recognised for Air Traffic Control (ATC) flight planning purposes. An ATC flight plan is a document that provides specified information to air traffic service units relative to an intended flight or portion of a flight of an aircraft.
Hitting a person or animal would see the closure of the airfield
Jurie Weber, a former Dundee resident and pilot, told the Courier that he experienced similar difficulties when flying into Dundee from Howick, where he now lives.
“I moved to Howick but return to Dundee on a weekly basis, as my business is still going on at my premises in Dundee. The state of safety when landing in Dundee has backslid so badly that it becomes a huge risk for planes and the residents of Dundee. On my last three visits, I had to abort landing three times, as pedestrians were walking with their backs to incoming air traffic, ignoring the plane and even mocking the pilot.”
A colleague who flew in from Johannesburg recently to do business had the same problem.
The Howick and surrounding flying groups, including all airfields like Oribi, have now been advised about Dundee’s landing hazards.
“The landing speed of an aircraft is about 100km an hour and up, depending on the size, so hitting someone or an animal at that speed is fatal. Further, an aircraft trying to avoid an incident might just end up in a residential area. I really hope this precious asset will be upgraded, as it is for the benefit of Dundee’s business and surrounding hospitality owners. I remember that we even had an air show there some years ago and there were hopes that the airfield would be greatly improved – but nothing has happened.
“Regardless, somebody might just be hit by a plane and the strip will be closed.”
Cllr Naresh Gopie (chairman of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee) said he had noted all the concerns regarding the airfield and these had been passed on to Municipal Manager Mr Ntombela.
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