Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

MPs have urged the Department of Defence (DoD) to take legal action against the original Swiss/German manufacturer of an anti-aircraft gun that ran amok during a live-fire training exercise at Lohatlha last year, killing nine SANDF soldiers and injuring thirteen others.

This came after a board of enquiry into the incident found that a design flaw – and not human error – was to blame for the tragedy.

Retired Major General Johan Jooste, who led the enquiry, yesterday presented a summary of its findings to Parliament’s portfolio committee on defence – that a “critical mechanical failure” of a matchstick-sized metal pin caused the accident.

Jooste explained that the failure of this tiny spring pin caused the gearbox of the rotating (upper) section of the gun not to engage properly, leaving the four ton upper section swinging uncontrollably under its own weight.

The problem was further aggravated by a stoppage – a physical ammunition jam – in one of the barrels which caused the force of the other barrel’s “rather long burst” to rotate the gun violently to the left.

The gun then fired directly at the crews of the other seven guns which were positioned in a line adjacent to the faulty gun.

An inspection carried out after the incident found that 10 of the army’s entire fleet of 48 anti-aircraft guns also had broken spring pins – accidents apparently waiting to happen.

These pins were sent to two separate groups of engineers for metallurgic testing but no metal fatigue or other structural problems were found, leading the enquiry to conclude that a design flaw was to blame.

MPs became visibly angry when Jooste confirmed an earlier accusation by Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota – that the original equipment manufacturer did not notify South Africa or other client countries of a previous, identical mechanical failure in another country.

This prompted MPs to call for legal action against the manufacturer, Oerlikon Contraves AG, and for financial compensation for the injured soldiers and the families of those who died.

Without himself pushing for legal action, Jooste pointed out that the report recommended that the legal issues be taken up “on the highest possible level” between the department and the manufacturer.

Defence spokesperson Sam Mkwanazi could not be reached for comment last night on possible legal action and Oerlikon Contraves has maintained its silence on the matter.

The board also made several non-causal “secondary findings”, pointing out weaknesses in the Air Defence Artillery’s live-fire exercise procedures.