Pilot fined R12 000 for low-flying

[Bugwar]

Dries Liebenberg, Beeld

Durban - In the first case of its kind in South Africa's oldest world heritage site, a pilot was fined because he disregarded the minimum flying altitude above the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.

Aircraft and helicopters which fly too low over world heritage sites like iSimangaliso (formerly known as the St Lucia Wetland Park) and the uKhahlamba/Drakensberg Park are a growing concern for conservation authorities.

The KwaZulu-Natal conservation services (Ezemvelo), which was quite recently appointed the managing body of the uKhahlamba/Drakensberg park world heritage area, is also gearing up to prosecute pilots for such transgressions.

According to Andrew Zaloumis, chief executive of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park authority, parks are like "honey pots", and there are pilots who profit from flying tourists low over such attractions.

The negative impact which aircraft and helicopters have on endangered bird and other animal species, has been well documented worldwide, said Ian Rushworth, ecological and advice co-ordinator of Ezemvelo.

"These days people are increasingly exposed to stress and have to travel far to establish a spiritual bond with nature. We get more and more complaints from people about the noise from aircraft and low flying helicopters," said Rushworth.

Francois Burger, 41, a flying instructor from Mbazwane near Sodwana, was found guilty last Thursday in the district court in Mtubatuba for disregarding the minimum altitude above the iSimangaliso Wetlands Park in February last year.

Gravity 'encouraging'

According to Zaloumis, on that day Burger took a client, who wanted to decide whether he wants to qualify as a microlight pilot or not, for a flight. During the flight, the wheels of Burger's aircraft touched the beach 6km south of Sodwana Bay before he gained altitude again.

Magistrate M de Klerk found Burger guilty of transgressing the Conservation Areas Act and sentenced him to a fine of R12 000 or 12 months in prison. Of that, R10 000 or 10 months was suspended for five years.

Burger paid the fine.

The minimum altitude for pilots above the iSimangaliso park is 4 100 ft (about 1 250m) and in the uKhahlamba/Drakensberg park it's 2 500 ft (729m) above the highest point in the park.

"The gravity with which this matter was handled in court, is encouraging. The number of complaints about low-flying planes has increased over the past few years, and law enforcement has improved," said Zaloumis.

In the 220km-long iSimangaliso Park, there are 243 rare and endangered species. Aircraft can, for instance, ruin the whole breeding season of the pink-backed pelican which only breeds in a colony in this park in South Africa.

Other birds such as didapper, storks and the yellow-billed stork are equally vulnerable, while planes could also disturb elephants as well as crocodiles when they're breeding.

In the Drakensberg the endangered cape vulture and bearded vulture are especially vulnerable.

Conservation officials are trained to identify the different altitudes at which planes may fly. They're also equipped with handheld radios to warn pilots who fly too low.

"At the moment we're warning pilots, and most of them leave the park's airspace immediately, but we will soon start to prosecute those who break the law," said Rushworth.

[caneco]

WRONG ...WRONG...POLITICS AGAINST US PILOTS...LETS ALL JOIN AND DO SOMETHING AGAINST THIS DECISION. INSTEAD OF FINING PILOTS FOR SMALL THINGS THEY SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT CRIME IN THIS COUNTRY INSTEAD. LETS DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. FRANCOIS PERSONALLY I AM WITH YOU.

[caneco]

there are 243 rare and endangered species, SORRY 244

[Pat Two]

Caneco, hate to differ but methinks the pilot in this one was in the wrong... He did not keep within the minimums and should expect to be punished. Just another thought about the coast North of St Lucia. This is the breeding place for the endangered Leather-back turtle. They usually lay their eggs on the beach although well above the waterline, it could be that it is a fresh nest that has not been demarcated by the park officials.

Lets respect the law and our planet and our fellow inhabitants...

Jaco

[Bumpy]

Caneco you are a real tonsil – this has nothing to do with the high crime rate except for the fact that if this idiot did not break the law the judicial system could have been busy with something more important.

Its disrespectful pilots like this that give us all a bad name

VIVA the guy that bust him And VIVA the magistrate that fined him

[KFA]

Just to correct matters, Francois did a touch and go in the low water mark. He was then honest afterwards when asked if it was him. I agree with the low flying in sensistive areas but come on, he did not land, he did not buzz anybody and he was honest about it afterwards. I think they could have given him a warning at the most.

[t-bird]

Yes it is the law but consider the following

Scuba diving

Then scuba diving should also be banned at Sodwana.

The impact on these reefs are massive. The two mile reefs Pinacel , Antons, Four bouy have suffered a lot damage due to the 80 000 divers plus a year diving these reefs. The coral takes decades to grow and is destroyed by divers touching it and bumping against it.

As for the turtles, there has been cases where divers hanged on to these turtles and the turtles have drowned.

Turtles have also being hit by diving boats.

Military operations

The area between Sodwana and Cape vidal was used by the Military to do target practicing. What effect would these massive explosions have on the birds ?

Helicopters at VIP lodges

There is a Helipad to the North of Sodwana at Rocktail bay. Guest are flown in with Jetrangers and R 44. These eco tourist are not concerned by noise created by them to get there.


How much damage can you do with a trike compared to above ?

[stertwiel]

Lets not thrive on shooting fellow pilots down, even if he made a boo boo, but lets all learn from it, once again if this site is going the avcom route it would be a shame.Yes he was wrong,and so most of us, but he is being caught out.Stick to the rules out there, maintain a high level of profesionalism .The list is endless by saying, what about....

[Bumpy]

I really can’t believe that there are people that are trying to justify this clearly illegal action

The laws are crystal clear and this idiot broke them knowing full well what he was doing.

This is not about scuba diving or military training exercises this is about a complete “box” who by breaking the law slowly but surely damages the reputation of the sport and makes it easier for laws to be past restricting “normal” usage for those who comply with the regulations.

In this instance as an instructor I feel that the fine should have been even higher as he has a moral obligation to lead by example, not to show a want to be pilot how to break the law (at what stage does he plan to un-teach his student what he demonstrated during their first flight) – The more I think about this the more this Mr. Burger sounds like Julius Malema and Jub Jub combined

[RV4ker (RIP)]

4100 feet sounds like overkill for any species....

Just my 2c....

[KFA]

C'on Bumpy, give the guy a break. Do you allways drive 120km/h? Do you not sometimes tow a trailor while knowing that the lisence expired? Nobodies perfect. Not even you mate. So chill and do not launch a personal attack and call people names that you do not even know.

[Africa]

Bumpy, I bet you feel real good now getting that hate off your chest

[wiskeyfoxtrot]

I do think that its a good warning shot across the bow of any "pilot " who wants to test the rules. Flying that low can only cause problems for all the rest of us, especially over a conservation area!.
I do think that the authorities could have warned him about his antics and if he still did not heed their calls then NAIL HIM.
How do we know that he wasnt asked not to fly low on previous occations?

Strongs to the courts, he got what he deserved!

Later

P.S. Hate speech doesnt seems so bad when you are not living in this country does it!

[falconp1]

Bumpy. Come on Dude. This is a friendly forum. You'r invited to our next bake bean breakfast with Caneco then we can discuss the matter at great lenght.

[Nkwazi]

I think if you're going to break the law (doesnt matter how silly you think it is), you must be prepared to face the consequences if caught. That he owned up and faced those consequences (and got away quite lightly) probably makes him a decent bloke. I doubt if he'll do it again.