...Prang, Prang Again?

The way policy is written in Pretoria, a South African Air Force student who fails an exam and then fails the make-good test as well is a wash-out. But that's not what happened in the case of one student who crash-landed a Pilatus PL-7 MK II Astra trainer recently.

The South African news publication Beeld reports the unnamed student was given another chance after scoring below acceptable limits. He was allowed to re-enroll in another 40 hours of instruction.

Again, he failed. Again, he was allowed to continue. A week ago, Beeld reports the student was doing touch-and-go's when he reportedly made the same mistake that washed him out at least once before. He accidentally deployed the plane's airbrake. In the resulting incident, the undercarriage parted ways with the aircraft, the propeller was mightily bent and a wing was embedded in the ground near a runway.

Experts in and out of the South African military said, if this kind of practice is allowed to continue, someone will eventually end up dead as a result.

Why was the student given so many chances when he appeared to clearly be a washout? Beeld reported the student was involved in a racism investigation after his instructors said he would never fly.

FMI: www.saairforce.co.za