• Dr J Steyn, a former Armscor employee and MD of Altech Electronic Systems, which had two loads of cargo on the Helderberg;
• Mr John David Hare, a former Armscor employee who joined SAA;
• Mr Brian Watching, a former SAA employee;
• Mr Tinie Willemse, a lawyer who was chief director : international relations of SAA at the time of the incident;
• Mr Gerrit Dirk van der Veer, chief executive officer of SAA at the time of the incident;
• Mr Thinus Jacobs, manager of SAA in Taipei between 1987 and 1991;
• Mr Mickey Mitchell, chief of operations for SAA at Jan Smuts (incorporating Springbok Radio Tower) at the time of the incident;
• Dr André Buys, Armscor general manager: planning
9 Others who were interviewed included:
• Mr Japie Smit, director of civil aviation;
• Mr Leslie Stokoe, an expert on dangerous goods;
• Mr Vernon Nadel, duty officer at the Springbok Radio centre on the night of the incident;
• Mr Rennie van Zyl, current chief director of civil aviation;
• Mr Jimmy Mouton, SAA flight engineer and friend of the flight engineer killed in the crash.
INVESTIGATIVE RESULTS
The cause of the fire
10 Nothing in the cargo inventory could have resulted in a ‘self-promoted’ fire. However, the original cargo manifests were not part of the record of the Margo Commission, and it is uncertain whether those in the possession of the Commission are authentic. There is therefore no reliable list of what cargo was being transported by the Helderberg when it crashed.
11 It was suggested to the Commission that Armscor may have had a goods consignment on the Helderberg that could have been responsible for causing the fire. Armscor conducted an internal investigation after the incident and denies having had any items on the flight.
12 The Commission believed that two Armscor employees from the company Somchem, which was producing rockets and missiles during the apartheid years, could provide important information. Armscor could not assist the Commission in locating either Dr JJ Dekker, who was the MD of Somchem, or Mr François Humphries, who was procurement officer at the time. 13 Interviews with SAA pilots indicated that there was a belief amongst pilots that passenger flights were frequently used to transport armaments and components for Armscor.
The timing of the fire
14 Much time has been spent attempting to determine the exact time the fire broke out. The conclusion reached by the Margo Commission was that the fire started just before the descent to land in Mauritius.
15 This conclusion is questionable because of the fact that there is no overlap between the conversation of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR, commonly known as the black box) and the conversations between the Helderberg and Mauritius air control an hour before the crash and again four minutes before the crash. This could indicate that the CVR stopped recording before the descent for landing, and the recorded conversation could therefore have taken place at any time on the nine-hour flight from Taipei.
16 The conversation on the CVR was analysed by the Flight Engineers Association, which concluded that the discussion was likely to have taken place within three hours of the flight leaving Taipei. This would indicate that something stopped the recording at this early stage of the flight. The flight engineers presented the Margo Commission with a submission indicating that they believed there had been two fires on board.
17 The Margo Commission ruled most of the CVR recording inadmissible because it was irrelevant and too personal. Analysts have argued that this decision by Justice Margo prevented his commission from accurately placing the conversation and may therefore have led to incorrect conclusions.
18 The theory of two fires on board was impossible to test adequately, since the recording of the conversations between the Helderberg and South African air traffic control went missing shortly after the incident and was never recovered.
In a letter to the Commission, a United States marine said that the CIA had a recording of this conversation. The Commission wrote to the director of the CIA asking him to confirm this and to make a copy available. No response was received.
The fire
19 The Margo Commission did not find a cause for the fire on board the Helderberg, but said that it might have been caused by ‘ordinary packaging material’. This Commission’s investigation indicates that ordinary packaging material is unlikely to have been the cause, for the following reasons:
• The fire was contained, and burnt fiercely at a high temperature.
• A packaging material fire causes a great deal of smoke, which would have set off the smoke alarms before the fire threatened the structure of the plane. The indications are that the smoke detectors were not activated until the fire had reached dangerous proportions.
• A promoted fire could reach very high temperatures (far in excess of 1000 degrees Celsius) without setting off smoke alarms.
• A promoted fire could cause packaging materials to catch alight if they were to be exposed to the flames.
20 The possibility of a ‘self-promoted’ fire is raised in a submission to the Margo Commission by Mr Greg Southeard, a chemist working for Burgoyne and Partners of the United Kingdom. Southeard indicated that he believed that the fire could have been caused by an incendiary device or a hazardous substance.
21 The director of civil aviation, Mr Japie Smit, told this Commission that most of such fires the world over are caused by illegal substances on board, and said that, when they simulated the fire, they were unable to put it out without the assistance of the fire brigade.
22 A letter from a Somchem employee to a journalist working on the matter stated that:
South Africa’s ammonium perchlorate (APC) production facility was set up in the 1970s at Somchem. Around the time of the Helderberg crash, South Africa was involved in military operations in Angola, Namibia and on the home front. The operational demand for solid rocket fuels was high. Somchem was not keeping up with the demand. A decision was made to double the capacity. This involved shutting down the plant for the duration of the extensions. Because of the ongoing demand, it was impossible to stockpile APC prior to the shutdown. Obviously a large quantity of APC had to be sourced outside the country for a period of several months in defiance of prevailing military sanctions. This was difficult and expensive, and I believe that initially the necessary APC was sourced from America and that it was brought in on SAA passenger planes as an integral part of the necessary deception (Commission’s summary).
23 Ammonium perchlorate is used mainly in military Class One applications, and as such is forbidden on all aircraft. Class Five, for commercial/technical application, could be carried by air in limited quantities depending on the type of aircraft (passenger or cargo) and packaging instruction. Supplier countries include the United States, China, Japan and France.
The investigation
24 Questions raised throughout the investigation process indicated that the investigators of the Margo Commission had not followed correct procedures. The matters raised are summarised in the finding below.
CONCLUSION
25 This Commission’s investigation into the Helderberg crash raised significant questions about the incident itself as well as the subsequent investigations that were conducted.
26 The matter is still under investigation by the special investigation team of the Gauteng Attorney-General.
THIS COMMISSION’S INVESTIGATION INTO THE CRASH OF THE HELDERBERG ON 28 OCTOBER 1987 SHOWED THAT MANY QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS REMAIN UNANSWERED, INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING:
• THE DIRECTOR OF CIVIL AVIATION (DCA) NEGLECTED TO SECURE ALL DOCUMENTATION AND RECORDINGS AS REQUIRED BY THE FLIGHT ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION (FEA) REGULATIONS:
• THE CARGO MANIFESTS WERE MISSING
• MR JIMMY MOUTON OF THE FEA ALLEGES THAT THE FEA WAS REQUESTED BY THE LAWYER ACTING FOR THE DCA, AS WELL AS BY JUSTICE MARGO HIMSELF AT A LATER STAGE, TO WITHDRAW ITS SU
BMISSION INDICATING THAT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN TWO FIRES ON BOARD.
• THE TAPE WHICH WOULD HAVE RECORDED CONTACT BETWEEN THE HELDERBERG AND SPRINGBOK RADIO CONTROL REMAINS MISSING.
• EYEWITNESSES OF THE CRASH WERE NOT CALLED TO GIVE EVIDENCE BEFORE THE MARGO COMMISSION.
• THE MARGO COMMISSION DID NOT CALL MEMBERS OF ARMSCOR TO GIVE EVIDENCE.
27 It is clear that further investigation is necessary before this matter can be laid to rest.
– Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Special Investigation: Helderberg Crash, Volume Two, Chapter Six
APPENDIX H
HITMAN TELLS HOW HE BOTCHED ‘ASSISTED SUICIDE’ TWICE BEFORE SUCCEEDING
‘HOW I KILLED KEBBLE’
Natasha Marrian
Sapa
Johannesburg: Boxer Michael Schultz yesterday told the South Gauteng High Court here how he twice botched mining magnate Brett Kebble’s ‘assisted suicide’.
Schultz, the State’s first witness, called by Gauteng deputy director of public prosecutions Dan Dakana, described how he shot and killed Kebble.
‘I leaned out the car window, pointing the firearm at him. He just lifted his shoulder, his right shoulder, and looked in front. I aimed at his head and pulled the trigger, but the weapon did not discharge,’ Schultz said, describing the night of September 27, 2005. He was testifying as State witness in the trial of convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti, who faced four charges, two related to Kebble’s murder.
After the gun failed to discharge the first time, he and accomplices-turned-State-witnesses Faizel Smith and Nigel McGurk drove off. After inspecting the weapon they returned and found Kebble in his vehicle. ‘I leaned out of the window and pointed the firearm. Once again the gun did not discharge.’
Schultz said he then told Kebble to wait for him. The trio drove away for the second time. He inspected the gun. They made a U-turn and returned to where they had left Kebble.
However, Kebble had driven off. They stopped their car and saw him coming towards them. They flashed their headlights at him. He made a U-turn and ‘stopped hard’ next to them.
‘I could see the disappointment in his face; he gave me a look like to say ‘get this over with, you’re putting me through hell’,’ Schultz said.
He leaned out of the window and aimed for Kebble’s body. ‘I pulled the trigger – this time the gun fired. I kept firing.’
Schultz could not remember how many times he shot, but said he had been instructed Kebble should not suffer. The three then drove away. Schultz looked back and saw Kebble’s car rolling forward and hitting the pavement. They sped from the scene in Melrose Street in Johannesburg to Smith’s panel-beating business, where Smith cut the gun into pieces and said he would dispose of it.
The next morning Schultz got up and went to gym.
During cross-examination, Agliotti’s lawyer Laurence Hodes SC put it to Schultz that his client ‘never ever conspired with you to aid the murder of Roger Brett Kebble’. To which Schultz replied: ‘No, he didn’t.’
Hodes then asked Schultz whether he agreed that Agliotti had not ‘in any manner’ killed the mining magnate. To which Schultz replied: ‘I agree.’
He asked Schultz whether Agliotti had received part of the R2 million offered by Kebble to help him die. ‘Not from the R2 million, no, not to my knowledge,’ he replied.
The only time Schultz was contacted by Agliotti about the murder was on September 22 when Kebble was to have been killed. Schultz was phoned by (Kebble’s former security head) Clinton Nassif’s wife with a message from him that the ‘meeting’ was off. He received a call from Agliotti to ‘call the boys off’.
According to the indictment, John Stratton, Kebble’s associate, and Agliotti enlisted Nassif to aid Kebble’s suicide after Kebble was forced to resign as chief executive of Western Areas Limited, JCI and Randgold and Exploration. Schultz told the court Nassif knew he was a ‘loyal and honourable guy’ and ‘wouldn’t say anything about it’.
‘All my instructions came from Mr Nassif,’ he said, as did all his payments. He went through with the killing after an assurance from Nassif that Kebble ‘would look after us’.
Schultz could gain indemnity from prosecution for his role in the murder if the court finds his testimony truthful.
Agliotti faces two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, a charge of attempted murder and one of murder. The first count is conspiracy to commit the murders of Mark Bristow, Jean Daniel Nortier, Mark Wellesley-Woods and Stephen Mildenhall. The second count is the attempted murder of Stephen Mildenhall. The last two are conspiracy to murder Kebble and Kebble’s murder.
Judge Frans Kgomo adjourned the matter until this morning. – Sapa
– Cape Times, 27 July 2010
APPENDIX I
Dear Kullie
Die eerie en die laste wat ons vir jou moet se is om laat jy pasop vir die vier op jou gat en op jou besegheid – ons het gehoor van jou roper besegheid by onse mense. Ons maak reg, jy maak kaak jou kullie. maar moenie bang wees nie jy moet net bid ons is op pat na jou. Ons weet nie of jy gehoor ons kan vier maak met ’n mens soos jy sonder houde en sonder papier. net wat ’n kaar gabreik is beter vir jou om te brand. ons sal met ’n biekie petrol kom. en jy sal ons ok biekie van jou gee. of nie so. pak weg van die plek af. as jy jou lewe liefhet. Saam met jou famielie want baie mense kom huil hier by ons van jou. ONS IS OP PAD.
We are there while you stay and dance. look at as by any time. Your name is death with petrol.
WE ARE the WORLD
We are the children
APPENDIX J
THE HELDERBERG STRIKES AGAIN
To the true forensically scientific mind the real cause of the recent tragic tsunamis in South East Asia is painfully obvious.
My own recent research has revealed that in its fateful last flight in 1987, the SAA Boeing 747, Helderberg, was diverted from its usual flight routing on instructions personally telephoned to the Helderberg’s drivers by General Magnus Malan.
The crew were instructed to abandon their route path, turn southwards and fly close to Sumatra, where the ocean depth is known to be in excess of 40 sea-miles. Once there they were instructed to jettison a nuclear device the aircraft was carrying in blatant violation of international air-transport signed agreements.
It was hoped the nuclear device would sink to the bottom and never be found in such deep water. The device had been supplied to South Africa’s apartheid government’s defence force by North Korea in return for a guaranteed future supply of raw nuclear fuel and red mercury.
The nuclear device jettisoned by the Helderberg has lain on the sea floor for all of the 17 years since the ‘accident’ and on Boxing Day detonated spontaneously after sea water eventually caused a short-circuit in its trigger-system. The tsunamis were caused by this massive underwater explosion.
Please let us have no more of this rubbish about shifting teutonic plates. This tragic tragedy was yet another relic of apartheid.
Anyone wishing to sue either SAA or the apartheid government for enormous damages over this matter is invited to contact me at my usual addresses. Very reasonable consultation and retainer fees will be charged. Special group rates for relatives of victims and pensioners. All credit cards recognised. Normal cellphone rates apply. – Dr David Glutzow, Johannesburg
– Mail & Guardian, 7–15 January 2005
APPENDIX K
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Breytenbach, Karen. ‘Heritage Day Pays Homage to Trojan Horse Three’, Cape Times, 26 September 2005
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Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report. Special Investigation: The Helderberg crash’, Volume 2, Chapter 6, Truth and Reconciliation Commission: October 1998
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Websites
Steeped in Blood Page 29