Well it has been done this time! Fantastic work by the pilot!
Wonder if they’ll visit South Africa again?

“Jet crash-lands
Pilot survives landing in Mauritius
PORT-LOUIS – An Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet crash-landed in Mauritius after its landing gear failed to open, but the pilot came away from the incident unhurt, civil aviation officials said yesterday.
The accident occurred at Plaisance, in the southeast of the Indian Ocean island state.
The Mirage”came to a stop at the southern end of the landing strip (at Plaisance international airport) after skidding for some 500 metres,” aviation officials said.
The fighter jet was one of six Indian Air Force planes which had flown to Mauritius from South Africa for an air show on Monday, which attracted about 25 000 spectators.
The five other Indian fighter jets were due to leave Mauritius yesterday, but the damaged Mirage will remain on the island for inspection.
“The Indian authorities must now undertake a careful inspection of the aircraft in order to evaluate the damage”, the Indian ambassador to Mauritius, Pripuran Singh Haer, said.
“From the surface, the aircraft appears to have been only slightly damaged. I’d say that’s a miracle,” he said. – Sapa-AFP.”

So do many Air Force aircraft? I have however clarified what I meant, anything further is pointless :confused:

I wouldn’t call the Omani Royal Flight, civilian. But for the above, I’ll refrase what I meant. The last civilian “airline” to use the VC-10 was probably Air Malawi.(ie when anyone could book a flight on one!?) :rolleyes:

Probably the last civilian VC-10 in service was the one used by Air Malawi. SAA is currently restoring an ex- BEA Viking, although I doubt if she will ever fly again. There are a few Viscounts registered in Equatorial Guinea and Swaziland which may do the odd flight, but certainly no regular service. This mainly to do with the high cost of maintenance, which means that other aircraft are sourced for spares. Sadly this is how G-PFBT ended her days. British Midland Airways bought the seven ex-SAA Viscounts and a simulator for the unbelievable price of ZAR273 000 in 1971!? During there time with SAA they had flown an average of 27 000 hours each. SAA replaced them with HS 748’s and B737’s. Another Viscount ordered by the Shah of Iran, was bought by the SAAF after he refused delivery. This Viscount was used by the SAAF in the VIP role. This Viscount was sold in Zaire becoming 9Q-CWL. I believe that it had the lowest hours of any Viscount at the time and was unfortunately shot down in Zaire.(Now Democratic Rep. of Congo.)

You have a point about catering. I haven’t had a problem with the quality of food, but a few years back they changed there catering equipment. Not only did it cost a fortune but it was also rubbish quality. Can remember glasses going through the washer and coming out the other side minus the stems?? Also a bad move replacing the B747 with the MD-11. AZ had good cargo loads going into Africa and then suddenly the MD-11 screwed that up. Tried increasing number of flights, but PAX figures didn’t warrant this. What a disaster! AZ had some lovely cabin crew, but what an attitude??????? Cabin crew could certainly do with some training in customer relations. Still like there colour scheme though, and I for one would miss them…….

Bloody Biggles………… 😀 He has a lot to answer for :diablo:

With regards to the MiG-23 v Mirage F1, I think it is important to note that it was the “package” that won the day, and not just the MiG-23. The Angolans had better missiles. Had the SAAF aquired the Python 3 earlier, things may have been different. The SAAF had a number of attempts at the MiG-23 but their missiles failed, and due to the superior speed of the MiG-23, they could not engage with their cannon.

Here is a couple of pic’s taken last week of the Norwich Vulcan. She is in a far better condition!