Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

A SANDF Special Forces chief instructor based at Wallmannsthal is claiming R900 000 in damages after a night freefall parachute exercise at the Kruger National Park went wrong when he fell on a live electrical cable and was severely injured.

It emerged that Captain Werner van Dyk (35), and four other soldiers who made the jump in June 2003, did so at the wrong drop zone.

Van Dyk is claiming damages in the Pretoria High Court from two pilots and a soldier based at Four Special Forces regiment in Langebaan, who were involved in the night jump. He said Lieutenant A Price (a pilot from 28 Squadron), Sergeant E Duzane (of Four Special Forces Langebaan) and PJ Gerber (a SANDF pilot) were responsible for safety during the freefall exercise of Five Special Forces Regiment on the night he suffered his injuries.

Van Dyk stated in court papers that the two pilots had control over the Cessna Caravan 208 aircraft – which Gerber piloted and Price co-piloted. Duzane acted as the drop zone safety officer.

It appeared that two of the soldiers who did the jump that night landed on electrical cables.

According to one of the men who did the jump, Van Dyk slipped from the wires and he fell to the ground and lost consciousness. He was immediately taken to hospital in an Oryx helicopter.

The second person who flew into the cables also received an electric shock, but was not as severely injured as Van Dyk.

Van Dyk suffered burns and other injuries..

Van Dyk stated that the drop zone safety officer had to ensure he had visual contact with the aircraft before he gave the go-ahead for the freefallers to be dropped. Van Dyk said that as it was a night drop, special care had to be taken they were dropped at the exact spot.

Duzane told a board of inquiry that after the five jumpers exited the aircraft, he could not see them, nor could he hear the plane.

He took off in a nearby Oryx helicopter to look for the parachutists and saw them on the ground next to a building.

The board of inquiry found that none of the members involved in the incident should be held directly responsible for the injuries suffered by Van Dyk.

Van Dyk, however, in his damages claim before court, insists otherwise. The three deny they were negligent. They said Van Dyk, as a free-fall team leader, should have taken special care during the exercise.

Judge Willem van der Merwe postponed the matter to a date still to be determined.