Dead pilots were ‘sons of the soil’

A RETIRED flight examiner has described the three pilots who died in a plane crash near Hosea Kutako International Airport on Friday as ‘sons of the soil’.

Peter Nutt worked with Uwe Herbert (62), Ole Friede (43) and trained Fritz Alpers (40).

Herbert was chief corporate pilot at Eros Air, while Friede was a commercial pilot and Alpers worked for Air Namibia.

The three died while they were flying a Cessna 425 Conquest that belonged to O&L Group of Companies as part of a process to renew their licences.

Nutt said Alpers was one of Namibia’s best pilots and instructors. He also said he had had a long meeting with Alpers on Thursday, not knowing it would be their last conversation.

He dismissed pilot error as the likely cause of the crash considering the vast experience of the three pilots.

“These were professional pilots,” he said, adding that Alpers was “disciplined, careful, thoughtful, patient and kind”.

Likewise, Nutt said, Friede and Herbert were respected in the aviation community.

“We pray for the families of these men. May friends and colleagues find peace in the way they lived, dedication to their profession, and in the best air transport service they could provide.

“Thank God, we could see Fritz for the last time the day before he was called for higher duties. Fritz, you made it worthwhile to do what we do. We will not forget. Ole and Uwe, we will miss you. From all of us: Fare thee well, for even the best of friends must part,” he said.

Alper’s wife, Greta, said she had coffee with her husband in town after dropping off their children at school on Friday morning.

She described him as a family man who loved his children. She also said her husband was a workaholic and that everyone at work had access to him.

“Flying was his passion. He started flying glades at 12. It was in his blood. I do not know anyone who had knowledge and network of getting information on aviation like him.

“There is never a good time for death and now is definitely not a good time. The news came as a shock and I could not believe that someone went on training and he was not coming back home. It is as if I were dreaming,” she said.

Alpers is survived by his wife and three children aged eight, 13 and 21.

He joined Air Namibia on 16 June 2003 as a captain of the A319-100. He was the acting chief technical pilot at the time of his death.

Talking about Alpers’ death, the acting managing director of Air Namibia, Mandi Samson, said the airline in particular and the entire nation had lost a young, hardworking man.

“The African skies have lost a master, an astute serviceman, who did both Africa and Namibia proud. Although our association with him was not long enough, he added substantial value to our organisation, and therefore the footprints of his selfless dedication and excellence in the execution of his duties, will never fade from our hearts,” Samson said in a press statement on Sunday.

– tuyeimo@namibian.com.na

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