32 FlightCom Magazine
News
Words: darren olivierSAAF C-130BZ
FLIES TO CUBA
S
UBSEQUENT reporting
determined that the
aircraft was headed to
Havana, Cuba, via a
number of refuelling stops
including Windhoek,
Saint Helena, Recife,
and Barbados, and that it was carrying the
personal belongings of Cuban technicians
who had been in South Africa as part of
Project Thusano.The C-130BZ returned to its home base
at AFB Waterkloof on Thursday 27 July,
capping off a mammoth 26,000 km journey
that involved over 52 hours of flying time.
It’s one of the longest journeys undertaken
by a 28 Squadron C-130BZ in recent years,
exceeding even the flight to Malta in 2012 as
part of evacuations from Libya.
Yet to date, the South African National
Defence Force has refused to comment
publicly or even acknowledge the flight,potentially because of the political
sensitivity of Project Thusano and the
inevitable question of whether transporting
the personal effects of Cuban technicians
was a justified use of a scarce and costly Air
Force resources.SAAF C130BZ landed
at St Helena en-route
to Havana, Cuba.On 18 July, a South African Air Force C-130BZ was
photographed at the newly-opened Saint Helena Airport on the
remote South Atlantic island, kicking off a wave of speculation
as to why it had landed there.
Nick Stevens