On the morning of July 13th 1994, the headline news read “SAAF Plane Down in Desert”. 

Avro Shackleton, number 1716 was one of eight four-engined maritime patrol aircraft commissioned by the South African Air Force in 1957. 

1993 saw an ambitious plan to restore one of these decommissioned aircraft and turn it into a flying museum. The name of this aircraft: Pelican-16. 

July1994, after ten years on the ground and two years of restoration work this magnificent aircraft flew again. Following an invitation to take part in the 1994 summer air-show circuit in the UK, Pelican-16 and its crew of 19 took off from Cape Town and headed north. 

But then in the dead of the blackest night, high over the Western Sahara the unthinkable happened; two engines on the starboard side failed within a period of just ten minutes. The aircraft and its crew went down. 

Image by Brig-Gen Derrick Page.

Flight commander Eric Pienaar and his crew performed a miraculous crash landing from which all walked away unaided.

A superb documentary of this event was produced by Andrew White of Short Finals. 
For further information on this superb documentary click here 

12th Reunion of Pelican 16. 
Click here for more information on the Pelican 16 Flight.

  The 12th reunion of the survivors of Pelican 16 took place at the Blue Peter Hotel in Blaauwberg Strand on the evening of 13 July 2006.
  The Blue Peter Hotel has become a significant contributor to the SAAF Museum, and in this instance, the spread of Moroccan food, the decor in the dining room as well as the waiters who were all dressed in traditional dress made for an extremely enjoyable get together. 
Sadly, not all of the members were able to attend, Chris Viviers is in hospital recovering from cancer and General Page was also unable to attend as was Blake Vorster. The Officer Commanding 35 Squadron, Lt Colonel Marcel Engelbrecht and his spouse represented the Base and the Squadron.
A moment was set aside to commemorate the lives of those crew who have since passed on to Higher Service. 
  The SAAF Museum and the crew of Pelican 16 thank the organisers and sponsors for their very generous contribution to the success of the evening.

Group photograph: Left to Right: Front: Gus Gusse, Buks Bronkhorst, Henry James Potgieter, John Balladon. Back:Bobby Whitfield - Jones, J.P. van Zyl, Peter Dagg, Horace Blok, Lionel Ashbury, Pine Pienaar.