[Lucky for them, unlucky for us! They praise the “professional” pilot… but I can’t help wondering, if he was so professional, why he hit the power lines to begin with?

I also can’t help wondering if this is another one of our Affirmative Action Pilots? Come to think of it… this could make me a convert to Affirmative Action! What we really need in this country are *LOTS* of Black Pilots… the sooner… the better… Jan]

Cape Town – A helicopter carrying Eastern Cape social development MEC Christian Martin and MPL Temmy Majodina crash landed near Stutterheim on Thursday after apparently hitting power lines.

Provincial government spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said the helicopter was on its way to Sterkspruit when the accident occurred.

The helicopter’s blades hit power lines before going down, as the glare of the sun apparently blinded the pilot.

Martin and Majodina were not seriously hurt, he said.

Martin told Sapa he was “lucky to be alive”.

Speaking from another helicopter taking them to a child support grant launch in Sterkspruit, Martin said the helicopter hit a power line, which “smashed the front wind screen and sliced the metal… It stopped just in front of my seat.”

He said the pilot was “very professional” and helped bring the “totally unstable” helicopter to a bumpy landing.

Majodina, the Eastern Cape’s public works committee chairperson, said she heard a “big sound” before the helicopter spiralled out of control.

“We don’t want to blame anybody, accidents happen anyhow,” she said.

Majodina had glass shards removed from her eye at a hospital, and Martin was treated for a sore neck.

Source: News24.Com
URL: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/New…/p>