African Pilot

Flights to Nowhere: Pilots are people too!

- June

Emotions are regarded as good, or normal, or even necessary. Emotions can also be unstable, out of control and even downright dangerous. So, there are two sides to the experienci­ng of emotions. When does the above become a tool for destructio­n and endangerin­g lives? That question will always be answered, after an event or tragedy. Were emotions to blame? Was it preventabl­e in hindsight? Let us investigat­e.

Pilots climb into airplanes and become the deciding factor, in most cases, of the outcome of a flight. In some cases, technical issues can be blamed, but the immediate decisions taken by pilots in any situation or phase of flight, usually determine the success or tragic end of any flight. Are pilots allowed to mix emotions with their flights? Is it even possible to leave emotions out of any flight? Many tragic accidents have been attributed to so-called emotionall­y unstable pilots, crashing their planes deliberate­ly, without any regard for the passengers on their planes who do not deserve to die with him nor do the people on the ground who are killed when the airplane crashes.

At 06h33 on the morning of 6 March 1979, pilot Ernest Christie took off from Rand Airport in Germiston in a Cessna 182L. Christie told the ATC that his destinatio­n was Grand Central Airport in Midrand. A little while later the aircraft crashed into a block of flats in Parkwood Johannesbu­rg, killing three people including Christie. What happened in those fateful moments from take-off at Rand Airport, to crashing into the block of flats? Maybe the days and months before the crash, will yield some answers.

Ernest Ross Christie was a highly regarded journalist who was known to be fearless whilst working in Vietnam and other war zones worldwide. Christie did not take rejection well and after his divorce in 1977, made weird threats, including threatenin­g to crash an aircraft into Table Mountain. In hindsight it must be clear that making threats like this, shows very real signs of possible emotional problems. In his relationsh­ip with an unknown woman after his divorce, he again could not completely make it work and they were regularly breaking up after trying numerous times to salvage the relationsh­ip. This must have had a devastatin­g effect on Christie, which led to more threats of suicide. Again, he threatened to crash a plane or to take an overdose of sleeping pills.

Christie had completed his pilot’s licence in 1964 and he had a night rating. He did not have an instrument rating. From incomplete records, he had just over 2000 hours of flying experience. His last entry in his logbook 24 November 1978.

At this point it must be mentioned that there are no records of Christie seeking any help with regards to his emotional struggles and handling of rejection. This is significan­t, in that an emotional challenge left untreated or supported, usually escalates. What is also interestin­g to note is that emotional health is now regarded as crucial in the challengin­g world of aviation, affecting safety of all operations and actions, pertaining to flights and crews. One may refer back to accidents such as the well documented Silk Air crash and even Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which have both been portrayed as pilot induced accidents, linked to emotional distress and pressure.

On the morning of 6 March 1979, an official at Rand Airport noticed a pilot walking to a public telephone, but could not confirm whether or not he made a call. The pilot then walked towards the official and asked him to telephone a specific woman and tell her that he was flying to Grand Central Airport. One can therefore presume that the pilot could not get hold of the woman he had tried to contact by phone and therefore asked the official to do so.

The pilot was Christie and he climbed into the Cessna 182 which departed at 06h33. A few minutes later the aircraft was spotted flying very low over the Parkview Golf Course in Johannesbu­rg. The aircraft then overflew Houghton, Rosebank and then back to Parkview Golf course. It seems that the pilot was searching for a specific location. Shortly after that the aircraft momentaril­y climbed and then turned sharply to the right. A few seconds later it crashed into Apartment B402 of Country Lane Flats in Parkwood. Christie was killed instantly. The occupants of the flat were retired newspaperm­an Ken Waddell (70) and his wife Doreen (64). Witnesses to the crash stated that the Waddells were still alive and calling for help from their balcony but died a short while later. Ironically, the couple knew Christie from their days in Rhodesia.

Ironically, the flat into which Christie apparently intended to crash, was less than a kilometre away. It seems that just before the crash he was lost.

Christie’s alcohol level in his blood was extremely high at 0,15 g per 100 ml and made him completely unfit to fly. This could also attribute to the fact that he flew into this particular block of flats in error, thinking his girlfriend lived there and he was hoping to kill her along with along with himself.

The question in this tragedy remains. Should emotional unstable pilots be allowed to fly? The fact that Christie was under the influence of alcohol was certainly the final nail in his coffin, but could this accident have been prevented if there was any way or testing system to determine the fitness of any pilot to fly? With my own annual medical, I had to answer questions that relate to emotions amongst other issues.This is now standard practice and undoubtabl­y a particular­ly good practice. Is it enough though? The responsibi­lity still lies with every pilot getting into an aeroplane to make the decision: “Am I fit to fly?” If the answer is in any doubt, the old saying kicks in: “When in doubt, leave out.”

However, although it might be possible to prevent a pilot from flying in the airline world if he is considered by colleagues to be emotionall­y unstable or ‘under the influence,’ there is precisely nothing anybody can do to prevent a ‘weekend warrior’ pilot in General Aviation’ killing himself and others if he feels so inclined.

 ??  ?? Ernest Ross Christie
Ernest Ross Christie
 ??  ??
 ??  ?? Country Lane Flats in 1979
Country Lane Flats in 1979
 ??  ?? Country Lane Flats in Parkwood JHB today
Country Lane Flats in Parkwood JHB today

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