I have low tolerance for people reposting bullshit stories on social media, how difficult is it to fact check something?
Even less tolerance for racist assumptions and stereotyping.
This appeared on Facebook lazily reposted by Jenny Meredith in October 2015 (probably not the originator – have also seen it attributed to “Boere Krisis Aksie” in 2013– a Boer preservation movement by the look of it) and just now reposted by an acquaintance of mine.
SOUTH AFRICA: PROBABLY THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WHERE THE PILOTS DRIVE A PASSENGER PLANE AS IF IT IS A 20-SEATER MINI-BUS TAXI!
B737-200 at Hoedspruit, South Africa.
The ‘previously disadvantaged’ pilot of this B737-200 landed at Hoedspruit (ex airforce base) in the dark.
And he proceeded to take the wrong taxiway.
Having arrived at a dead end he then attempted to turn around by reversing (using reverse thrust).
He misjudged and put the main gear off the concrete. It then rolled back down the bank. He then tried to climb out using full power.
Of course with the engines that close to the ground, they ingested grass, stones, mud, sticks, dust, sand, etc.
If it wasn’t raining – the jet blast could have set fire to the surrounding bush.
There are two unnecessary words in the post, and they tell us exactly what we need to know about the person/people that repost it.
Is the story true?
Well, a Boeing 737-200 did take a wrong turning while taxiing at Hoedspruit Air Force Base and did roll off the taxiway and did sustain serious damage.
From the description of the pilot in a news story apparently published after the incident investigation (and easily found online) it doesn’t seem like the pilot was a “PDI” – considering apartheid only ended in 1994.
The 66-year old captain – who had logged over 26,500h – opted to perform a 180° turn by steering the 737 into an area leading to hangars and then reversing. (Flight Global)
Another forum states that the pilot and first officer were apparently both white male, not a press release but the aviation community is pretty close-knit so I would consider this a reliable source.
One poster seems to know the individual personally:
I won’t post his name public here as I do feel bad for the guy.
And:
The PIC was not a PDI but a white male, so was the F/O. The Captain was ex SAA.
(PIC = Pilot In Command, F/O = First Officer)
What of this particular reposter?
Some casual cyber-stalking suggests that this particular reposter is a Whenwe from Rhodesia now somewhere in the British Home Counties, forever destined to look back through rose-tinted glasses at an era of privilege and exploitation.
I wonder if she is casually racist at work? (Brayborne Cleaning Services)
Other casual racists
Right of reply
If I see retractions and public apologies on whatever social media platform the posts appear then I will gladly remove names.
I have scanned the Boere Krisis Aksie Facebook posts of the time and it looks like they have removed the post.
(For what it’s worth, I disagree with the decimation of once prosperous economies in the name of reform but believe that the benefits of strong economies should be more equitably distributed – that might just reduce the casual violence and simmering resentment that seems endemic in many ex-colonial countries.)
