‘Alive’ in Africa

In 1994, 19 survivors walked away from the wreckage of the only airworthy Avro Shackleton which had crashed, at night, in the Sahara Desert – in the middle of territory that had been fought over for 20 years – and which had no diplomatic ties with South Africa. The story of what happened, illustrated with photographs and audio from the event, will be presented by Captain Jonathan Balladon, the flight’s co-pilot, at the Mensa Winelands’ monthly meeting in Somerset West tomorrow, Thursday September 19, at 7.15pm. In addition to being a passionate aviator with experience flying Harvards, Albatross, Piper Aztec, Beechcraft Queen Air, Dakota, Turbo Dak, Shackleton, King Air and Boeing 707 and 737, Jonathan has skippered two Cape to Rio ocean races, is an amateur radio enthusiast, and is rebuilding a 1953 Citroen.