I love you - doomed pilot
2009-11-16 07:38
Pretoria - He was calm, cool and rational right up to the last few seconds - when he realised his beloved plane was about to crash.
"In his last moments Dave told the air traffic controller to tell the people close to him that he loves them," Brian Emmenis said on Sunday.
Emmenis is an air show commentator and was one of the thousands of spectators who stood frozen on Saturday as they watched Dave Stock, one of South Africa's most experienced test pilots, crash in a plume of smoke at the Overberg air force base near Bredasdorp.
The English Electric Lightning fighter plane from Thunder City at the Cape Town International Airport was experiencing serious hydraulic problems.
Stock tried to eject three times, but the ejection seat did not react.
Experts speculated on Sunday whether the hydraulic problem could cause the canopy to fail to detach. The canopy must detach before the ejection seat can be activated.
The accident has yet again rekindled a debate among pilots over the desirability of privately owned old military aircraft.
One of four still flying
This Lightning, which had been used as an interceptor decades ago by the Royal Air Force during the Cold War, was one of the last four in the world still in flying condition. All four belong to Thunder City.
According to Emmenis, Stock took off for his performance on Saturday shortly after 12:00. After his second flyby, he turned away from the crowd, and at that moment the plane started developing problems.
"This is proof of what an extremely professional pilot Dave was: His thoughts immediately went to the crowd of about 40 000 people," Emmenis related.
"From that moment, everything happened within two minutes. Dave maintained contact with the air traffic controller throughout, saying what he was trying to do to overcome the problems. The next moment, the plane "flip-flopped" and plummeted straight down into the ground.
"The crowd became completely silent. Nobody could believe what they were seeing.
"An Augusta helicopter belonging to the air force was in the air immediately, because we didn't know if Dave had eventually been able to eject.
"Two Oryx helicopters with emergency personnel and even divers were sent to the scene, since he might even have ejected over the ocean," Emmenis added.
Missing Man formation
However, it was soon clear that there was no chance that Stock could have survived. The air show's pilots decided to continue with the military part of the programme, and the Silver Falcons, the air force's display team, upheld tradition by performing the Missing Man formation, in which one plane breaks away from the group.
"People were standing around crying openly - everyone was part of the tragedy which took place right before their eyes," Emmenis said.
There was a sombre atmosphere at the base on Sunday, as the pilots left for home.
Above the scene of the accident, one by one, they dipped their planes' wings as they paid their respects to one of the greats among them, who died in his element: in a fighter jet at the speed of sound.