mother’s older sister Paula was one of the cabin crew on that
flight. Armed only with a copy of the article, I recently set out
to try to find any evidence that might still be left of this tragic
event in South Africa’s aviation history.
Bosch Valley Farm sits in a plantation of gums and conifers to
the northeast of Spitzberg and is run by the late Willem Botha’s
grandson. Mr Botha and I communicated in a combination of
his broken English and my broken Afrikaans.
After we had shaken hands, the first thing he said was: “You
know, my father was the one to find that ’plane. And his father
was riding on his horse at Rosedale Farm next door, when he
heard the noise of this aircraft flying so low, he jumped off his
horse because he was sure it was going to land right on top of
him. But it didn’t, and then he knew it would hit the mountain.
“My father did not like talking about that day at all – he hated
it, because it made him so sad. But he used to tell me one thing :
the first body he found when on top of the mountain was the
lugwaardin – the air hostess. He said she was the most beautiful
woman he had ever seen in his life. Her face was untouched –
lipstick, make-up – even her hat was still on her head.
“There were also two bags full of golden pound coins. And
my father takes the bags full of gold and he gives them to the
policeman from Vrede. Two weeks later that man disappears
and was never seen again.”
In Couzens’ article it states: “Rumours also exist of a farm
having being bought by policemen, paid for from money
collected at the scene that day.”
Pilgrimage
I set off alone for the crash site. On the way up I missed the
narrow rock funnel – the only safe route to the site – but after a
few dead ends I found a rock chimney and managed to scramble
up. It felt like looking through a trapdoor, with the floor of the
valley at least 1,640ft (500m) below me.
After some tense moments I finally emerged onto a flat area
of rock where I paused to catch my breath and look out to the
north – with spectacular views all the way to the East Rand.
38 AIRLINER Classics 2018