ROADMAP INTO TRAGEDY
AVIATION MYSTERIES ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT
Wouter Botes was born on 23 June 1965 and he holds a Commercial Pilot’s Licence with multi-engine and turbine rating, test pilot class2 and 42 aircraft ratings. In addition, he has three years of aircraft maintenance experience. Wouter has undertaken low-level survey flights in Australia as well as parachuting flights for the Pretoria Skydiving Club. He is presently a pilot for Emergency Medical flights, maintenance and recovery flights, African continent charters for passengers and cargo. Presently Wouter has a total of 1500 hours including 950 hours as pilot in command. His interest in this series ‘Flights to Nowhere’ stems from his experience as a radio and TV presenter as well as journalistic crime investigations. Wouter is presently the company pilot for Mike Bolhuis of Specialised Security Services.
When do we stop searching? In the much-publicised case of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the search reached a point where the cost was so high it had to be called off. When should we stop searching? If it is a family member or loved one, it will be extremely difficult to reach a point where acceptance becomes a reality that further search efforts will be in vain. A very emotional situation beyond reason indeed.
Two soldiers
It was a sunny morning at Wonderboom Airport, just North of Pretoria. The date was 31 October 1980. Two conscripted soldiers from the Heidelberg Gymnasium Army Base, Gunther Jurgen Dreyer and Andre Coetzee, arrived at Wonderboom Airport. Dreyer was the holder of a Private Pilot’s Licence and hired a Piper Cherokee 180, registration ZS-VVK, from the Pretoria Air Charter Company.
A Piper Cherokee 180, similar to the aeroplane Dreyer hired
They became airborne at 10h30 for a flight to Graskop in Mpumalanga, to meet up with friends. The aircraft had enough fuel on board for a 600nm flight. They could therefore fly 1112km. Graskop was only 277km away, as the crow flies. There was therefore ample fuel to reach Graskop and even fly back to Wonderboom, with reserves. The flight was uneventful for the first part, but then Dreyer seemed to lose his way. One has to bear in mind that everything that took place in the cockpit at that stage, is pure speculation.
On the same morning of Dreyer and Coetzee’s flight, an elderly couple was travelling in their vehicle on the Lydenburg Burgersfort road, the R37. It was somewhat misty, but the visibility was good. As they came around a bend in the road, they suddenly noticed a stationary aircraft on the road. It seemed to have landed on the road and they noticed two men standing next to it. The elderly driver then stopped a few metres from the aircraft and got out of his vehicle. He noticed that the two men were studying a map placed on the wing. They greeted him and explained that they had to make an emergency landing on the road, after becoming lost on their way to Graskop. The elderly man noticed that they had an ordinary roadmap and not an aviation map. He explained to them that Graskop was approximately 45 kilometres in a south easterly direction. He said he even pointed in the general direction where Graskop was. The two men then got back in the plane and took off without incident. He noticed that they headed in an easterly direction.
No arrival in Graskop
What happened next will most probably never be known. Bearing in mind that Dreyer, at that point, had already lost his way and the fact that they used a roadmap and not an aviation map will most certainly be contributing factors to this case. Let’s look at the probable scenarios, that might be the most acceptable in
understanding this case, albeit speculation:
The majestic God’s Window is very close to Graskop, their intended destination. As we do not have the exact time that the elderly couple talked to them after landing on the Lydenburg Burgersfort road, it could be that Dreyer flew around for a length of time, before he opted to make an emergency landing on the road. This would have meant that his fuel was low and might have influenced his decision to land on the road, in order to have fuel left for the last leg of the flight. He must have realised that they could not be far from their destination, if the flight’s initial planning was anything to rely on. Again, speculation but could make some sense.
After taking off, it is very possible that Dreyer was still unsure of his position and again flew blindly in the general direction he believed his destination was supposed to be. If the aircraft did not have enough fuel left for another ‘searching for the destination’ flying, tragedy was imminent. It is at this point that the terrain in the area of this incident becomes extremely important, if we speculate that the aircraft crashed into the mountains of God’s Window. If this unfolding situation happened somewhere in an area like the highveld, or more flat terrain, a second emergency landing would most certainly be more possible. In the event of a crash scenario, the wreck would then probably be found. If the terrain in the area of Graskop and God’s Window is anything to consider, a crash into the almost unreachable gorges and depths, will most certainly be able to hide a wreck for eternity. It is a well-known fact that some areas in the region have never been explored and can only be reached with special climbing equipment. A drone might be able to map and explore the vast mountainsides and gorges today and could by chance stumble upon the wreck. It was at one stage considered by the army as well as aviation authorities involved in the search, that they flew to Mozambique. This turned out to be a dead end. Looking at scenarios where dams and water masses could be a possible option, it cannot be ruled out completely. If they crashed into one of the many dams in the area, it might be that a wreck will emerge in case of the dam being emptied or in a drought situation. This has obviously never happened in this case so far.
Summary
Was this incident a case of minimal experience having a compounding effect on an imminent tragedy? A few questions remain. What was the Cherokee’s fuel situation, after landing on the road? This can only be determined if a timeline can be established from when the aircraft took off from Wonderboom and subsequently landed on the road. How disorientated was Dreyer? Was he more convinced of his flight direction after taking off from the road? The chances are that he wasn’t considering the fact that he not only used the wrong map but had to ask for directions. Flight planning seemed to be one of the major factors that contributed to this mysterious case. If the wreck lies somewhere at the bottom of an overgrown gorge after 39 years, a mountaineer or adventurer might stumble upon it, by sheer chance. Perhaps a drone mapping the general area of Graskop and God’s Window will have better luck. The fact remains that this wreck lies quietly somewhere, with most probably the remains of Dreyer and Coetzee inside, slowly disintegrating into the abyss of time. The disappearance remains unsolved.