Pretoria - The South African Air Force yesterday commemorated the first aircraft to be involved in an air crash in 1922.
The accident followed a freak accident that killed captain Albert Lawrence Montagu van der Byl.
Members of the air force and some representatives of the Van der Byl family gathered at the Irene Dairy Farm, near Centurion, where Van der Byl lost his life as the aircraft crashed on the farm while he was performing aerobatics.
Chief director of air policies and plans Major-General Mbukeli Songqushwa and retired SA Air Force Association president Colonel Mike Louw paid tribute to Van der Byl, who lost his life in the first SAAF crash after its formation in 1920.
The SAAF remembered September 18 as the day when structural failures on one of its aircraft claimed the life of the captain hailed as a hero by many for his gallantry in air force circles.
Family and friends paid their respects and said they wondered what life and the family tree would be like if the crash had not claimed Van der Byl’s life.
Songqushwa said the SAAF celebrated 102 years of aviation heritage in February, and through those years many aviators came, soared, and conquered the skies. Among them was Van der Byl, who died with Lieutenant Edward Armstrong Stuart of SA Mounted Rifles.
“He was flying an Avro 504K, tail H8699. The Avro 504K was a two-seater trainer with a maximum speed of about 133km/h at 1 981 metres. The Avro could be armed with a gun It was one of those aircraft that had a universal mount to take different engines, which made life easy …” he said.
He said it was stated that Sir Pierre van Ryneveld was not happy with the funding of the air force, and even said he would rather have a smaller unit in the air that would be run efficiently with limited staff than a squadron with depleted staff consisting of two flights, which was the defence ministry’s policy at the time.
“It is unfortunate to state that even today, it is still the same. Where the funding of the current air force is diminishing each financial year but the mandate of the air force has not changed.
“The current chief of the air force, Lieutenant-General Wiseman Mbambo, shared the same concerns, and had to ensure that the air force operated air generation fighter aircraft efficiently, but with not enough funding, which would ensure that the fighter capability was maintained and advanced as the technology was advancing on a daily basis.
“A fully-funded air force, and Department of Defence at large, would lead to a fully functioning and productive defence industry, which we know at the present moment is challenged.”
Family member Adrian van der Byl said the incident occurred 100 years ago on a quiet morning at 7.20 when there was no wind and the aircraft was probably 1 500 feet high.
He said in some respect it probably was not a surprise because the aircraft was manufactured 16 years after the Wright brothers researched and developed the first successful powered aircraft. Technological advancement was not as rapid at the time.
“He certainly pulled the manoeuvres that they say he did as his family in the form of his mother, his cousins and uncles and aunt, witnessed the whole event from their farmhouse, which you cannot see now because is situated 250m beyond the trees.”
He said the commemoration was also for Stuart, who was Van der Byl’s passenger.
Adding to the sadness, Van der Byl was the last remaining child as his mother had previously lost her other son and daughter.
“We were told she never really recovered after that incident.”
Pretoria News