Airforce: Shadow plane was in US

daveza

daveza

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Yesterday-

The Defence Ministry insists the Bombardier Global Express plane only flew halfway and landed in the Canary Islands.

It said the plane remained there waiting for the presidential aircraft and then returned to South Africa.

The shadow jet was hired to follow the Zuma’s plane as it had just undergone a major service.

Aviation enthusiasts recorded sound of the charted plane getting clearance for takeoff from JFK Airport.

On the audio recording, a controller is heard giving clearance for the shadow plane.

The clips are from a US-based website that broadcasts live air traffic control feeds from across the world.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya said the audio was not reliable.

“We do not even know whether the audio was recorded at JFK. It went halfway and then came back,” he said.

The ministry insists the plane never landed in the US.
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Today -

http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/airforce-shadow-plane-was-in-us-1.1217238

The SA Air Force has admitted a plane that shadowed President Jacob Zuma on his recent visit to the United States did so all the way to New York.

“The aircraft was there because there was a time-critical engagement on the way back,” air force chief Lt-Gen Carlo Gagiano told reporters in Johannesburg.

A standby aircraft was vital to ensure the president did not miss this appointment.

He was responding to reports earlier this week that a second jet had landed at John F Kennedy International Airport where Zuma was attending a United Nations meeting.

The defence ministry however said on Thursday the Bombardier Global Express only flew halfway and landed in the Canary Islands. It remained there until Zuma flew back to South Africa, the ministry said.

Media reported that the plane was seen in US airspace and that audio of it landing at JFK airport last week, confirmed it flew using an SA Air Force call sign.

Defence ministry spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya denied that the plane had followed Zuma into the US.

Gagiano blamed the conflicting reports on a breakdown in communication between himself and Mabaya.

Mabaya said the defence ministry did not have to “justify” itself to anyone.

“The funfair about the president's plane must come to an end,” he said.
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I could care less if they took two planes - the cost is a drop in the ocean to what is stolen here on a daily basis.

But what gets right up my nose is our own military lying to us - the people who pay their stinking salaries.

Mabaya - you are a bloody liar who thinks we are sooooo stupid.

The real stupid is you for getting caught out in your own garbage.
 
"A standby aircraft was vital to ensure the president did not miss this appointment."

help me out here.

am i to understand that if the president did not make it to the airport in time his own plane was going to leave without him ?
 
grantza said:
"A standby aircraft was vital to ensure the president did not miss this appointment."

help me out here.

am i to understand that if the president did not make it to the airport in time his own plane was going to leave without him ?
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It would have been in case of ZS-RSA having a technical problem and being grounded/delayed. Apparently more likely because it's just had a D-check.
 
Mabaya said the defence ministry did not have to “justify” itself to anyone.

“The funfair about the president's plane must come to an end,” he said.
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Quite an arrogant ****er. Typical ANC.
 
Our taxes paid for that plane - hell even Obama doesn't fly with a spare plane!

Why didn't they detour via Iraq or something and get shot the f@&k down!
 
Rishalin said:
Our taxes paid for that plane - hell even Obama doesn't fly with a spare plane!
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Nope, he flies with a few.

I think daveza puts it perfectly though:

daveza said:
I could care less if they took two planes - the cost is a drop in the ocean to what is stolen here on a daily basis.

But what gets right up my nose is our own military lying to us - the people who pay their stinking salaries.

Mabaya - you are a bloody liar who thinks we are sooooo stupid.

The real stupid is you for getting caught out in your own garbage.
Click to expand...
 
Mabaya said the defence ministry did not have to “justify” itself to anyone.
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? Words fail!

Someone should tell Mr Mabaya that the military will not exist if not for the taxpayers in this country. We have every right to know how our money is being spent. The day that he personally provides the entire budget for the SA Military is the day that he does not have to answer to anyone.

Im afraid that this should be seen as a sign of things to come. Military coups lead to dictators. Pay careful attantion to whom is in charge of the soldiers and the police.

Hope that SCOPA investigate exactly who was on that 'shadow' plane.
 
It gets worse -

http://www.iol.co.za/saturday-star/zuma-s-aircraft-row-1.1217261


Not one, but two aircraft are now believed to have shadowed President Jacob Zuma’s presidential jet to New York – or at least part of the way – where he delivered a speech at the opening session of the UN Security Council last week.

Yesterday, after days of denial, the defence ministry finally confirmed reports that a back-up plane – a chartered Bombardier Global Express estimated to have cost R2 million – had shadowed Zuma’s Boeing Business Jet on its way to New York last week.

On Thursday, ministry spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya rubbished reports that the shadow aircraft had landed at JFK International shortly after the presidential jet touched down, claiming this aircraft had flown only as far as Las Palmas on the Canary Islands, where it had waited to accompany Zuma on the return leg.

However, air force chief Lieutenant-General Carlo Gagiano told journalists in Johannesburg yesterday that the Bombardier had indeed flown to New York and blamed the conflicting information on a breakdown in communication between himself and Mabaya.

It has since emerged that Mabaya, in denying that the shadow plane had gone to New York, may have confused the Bombardier charter flight with another shadow aircraft.

DA MP David Maynier claimed yesterday that a second back-up plane, an Airbus A340-200 with the call sign SA2205, had been chartered from SAA to shadow Zuma’s flight as far as Las Palmas on January 10.

This plane, apparently stocked with victuals for VIP passengers and carrying a crew of three for the outward journey, returned to OR Tambo International the next day.
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Seems they needed a third plane just to carry enough KFC for the trip.
 
Mabaya said the defence ministry did not have to “justify” itself to anyone.
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We really need to get rid of the god complex`s in our ministry.
 
Spin Doctors at work?

How do you save face when the country knows you are lying through your teeth? You make up another story of a second plane shadowing the president and you were confused with the questions that were asked about a plane following the President.

You weren't in fact lying when you said that a shadow plane only went halfway to the USA.

Some Politicians, like many Diva type singers/sports personalities and other famous types, think they are better then the people paying their salaries or idolising them on the sports field or on tv and until they get shown the finger they will be keep on acting as if their poo don't stink.
 
ghoti said:
We really need to get rid of the god complex`s in our ministry.
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+1 They forget that they are civil servants and the money they are wasting comes from the tax payers and belong to the people of the country, not them.
 
Well fark me!!

The people of this country must be farking rich to afford all these things or the people of this country are farking poor because of all these things we are paying for.

When I sit with the school principal to discuss the school fees, I will make sure I mention that I paid for the fuel for Jacob Zumas mission the The Land Of The Free and Home Of The Enslaved, so she needs to cut me some slack.
 
Nose.jpg


"It went halfway and then came back"
 
grantza said:
"A standby aircraft was vital to ensure the president did not miss this appointment."

help me out here.

am i to understand that if the president did not make it to the airport in time his own plane was going to leave without him ?
Click to expand...

Perhaps refueling would take too long or something, but this whole thing is just smacking of poor management and wastefulness... They need to disclose what meeting was so critical. Maybe we would understand then...

Why was he shadowed in both directions? Couldn't they just charter a plane there or are they affraid of American charters? Is Zuma a paranoid president?
 
antowan said:
Perhaps refueling would take too long or something, but this whole thing is just smacking of poor management and wastefulness... They need to disclose what meeting was so critical. Maybe we would understand then...

Why was he shadowed in both directions? Couldn't they just charter a plane there or are they affraid of American charters? Is Zuma a paranoid president?
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We have a government who thinks that they do not have to answer to anyone, who have the mandate to do anything.
Good luck in getting any answers.

My personal oppinion the second plane was filled with friends and family for a excursion to the promised land.
 
darkevil said:
We have a government who thinks that they do not have to answer to anyone, who have the mandate to do anything.
Good luck in getting any answers.

My personal oppinion the second plane was filled with friends and family for a excursion to the promised land.
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You might be right... I think this image says it all to government...

2429467.jpg
 
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