Special Hearings — Helderberg Flight Special Hearing — 1998-06-03

CHAIRPERSON: But then wouldn't it be the perfect situation for them to say, let us use a normal passenger flight which is not going to attract attention, let's take a risk, after all this is something that we are never going to be able to do without taking a risk, if we are to prevent the international community of the eyes of the entire world knowing about it.  Now, are you saying it is beyond the realm of possibility that a gamble like that could have been taken?

MR BRAIZBLATT: Look, I'm not professional enough to say it's beyond the realm, but what I think is -  you're having said that, I think it would be stupid of them to take it via two points in Europe.  That would be a suicide gamble in case the aircraft stays there for whatever technical reason there may be.  It stands to reason that there may have been things, but I would think that they probably had them on cargo flights direct backwards and forwards, or by sea.  But if you're asking me, does the possibility exist, the possibility exists.  It's a very doubtful and highly improbable proposition.  There were things like aircraft parts, but nothing - I personally never saw a missile and I certainly wasn't asked whether it was fuelled or unfuelled, and how could I possibly tell that it was fuelled or unfuelled?

MS PATTA: Right, now, you were Cargo Agent, and you've been that for a long time ...(intervention)

MR BRAIZBLATT: That's correct.

MS PATTA: And you are, I presume, responsible for the safe loading and off-loading of cargo on planes?

MR BRAIZBLATT: To a certain extent, but you must understand, we have handling agents that do the work for us, they get paid to do it.  We also have airport authority, they actually load and unload the aircraft.  They're professionals at it, it's their job.

MS PATTA: Right, but now I want to just put this to you, a week after this happened on the flight with Mr Loog, the flight of Captain Deon Storm came in and the same thing happened, a crate broke open revealing a long metal object looking like a missile.  Now I just find it very difficult to understand why you never knew about it or saw it, being the Cargo Agent.

MR BRAIZBLATT: Yes. Okay, now no 1, I did tell you that I was called to the aircraft after the things had fallen down, because I'm not at - look, my job isn't only cargo, my job is passenger, cargo and operations, therefor I'm not at the aircraft all the time, I'm at the aircraft the moment it lands and the moment it takes off.  In between those two times I'm situated in the arrivals hall dealing with passengers that have come in, problems with lost suitcases, whatever, and I also alternate in between the departure hall where we have problems with passengers that are there ...(indistinct).  That is why we have a handling agent, to take care of all these matters.  And quite right, metal object, I told her I don't know what it was.  I got to the aircraft after the crates had been off-loaded because I was asked to come out, but I couldn't see anything, I could only see the profile of it, and only a slight profile of it.

MS PATTA: How often were these crates, the similar crates, off-loaded?

MR BRAIZBLATT: We're speaking about 1985, I think maybe - I tried remembering this myself because I thought that would be one of your questions, four maybe five times.

MS PATTA: During mid 1985?

MR BRAIZBLATT: Yes.

MS PATTA: And later one, before that?

MR BRAIZBLATT: Look, we've even had big crates today.

MS PATTA: But we're talking about a particular ...(intervention)

MR BRAIZBLATT: I can't know what was in those crates.

MS PATTA: But we've looking at a particular kind of crate.

MR BRAIZBLATT: It's incorrect to say that, I'll tell you why.  We, for instance, forward irrigation equipment.  Now irrigation equipment as you well know, sometimes they have to forward them in pipes that can be 4 - 5 metres long, because this goes with a whole computer system and they're in very very similar crates.  And at the same time one of the freight - one of the companies that was forwarding out to an irrigation company here in South Africa, he was forwarding these irrigation modules in small packets and they were coming back from South Africa for repair as well.  We had one case where it came back from South Africa for repair, they couldn't disassemble the damn thing and it came back to the Kibbutz for repair.  So, not necessarily, we've had this, we've had an occasion of a crate, but who can tell what's inside it?  You know, we've had occasions where we've had crates that are, what, 1 metre 20 by 2 metres by 3 metres and then, you can't know what's inside them.  These are boxes, they are computer equipment and things like that inside, telecommunications equipment that has to go standing upright, because you can't fold a telephonic switchboard in any other way.

MS PATTA: If something dangerous would have been placed on a flight to South Africa, I suppose ...(intervention)

MR BRAIZBLATT: To South Africa ...(intervention)

MS PATTA: Can you just listen to the question.  If something dangerous, but packed according to Iata and Icao standards, would you know about it when such a parcel goes on a flight to South Africa?

MR BRAIZBLATT: If the Shipper would have declared it as being a DGR, dangerous goods, yes, we would have known about it.

MS PATTA: How?

MR BRAIZBLATT: That's why there's a Shipper's declaration.  We would have known about it and the goods would have been checked thoroughly.

MS PATTA: How often did that happen?

MR BRAIZBLATT: During that period it didn't happen at all, but basically very little, because at that period our cargo capacity from Tel Aviv to Johannesburg was virtually nil.  Now, why was it virtually nil?  The flight as you were saying yourself, was going via Europe.  We weren't given allowances for a cargo out of Tel Aviv at that period.  Very small allowances were given for us, because our yield on cargo from Tel Aviv was a lot less than what the yield would have been from Rome or from Portugal, don't forget, Rome, Portugal is further away from Israel and therefor they were charging higher rates.  We were trying to compete with out first competitor LL, who was charging rock-bottom rates.  So basically, what we were carrying at the time was very small items of irrigation equipment, we had perishable food products, we had swimwear, ladies swimming costumes, that's what our basic cargo was during the 80's.   We could have had  a lot more, but we didn't have the space to have it.

MR MAGADHLA: Were you summoned to the spot where you saw the object which you say you only saw the profile of?

MR BRAIZBLATT: Yes.

MR MAGADHLA: Now what was the purpose of summoning you to the spot, to inspect, to say what the object was, or to do what?

MR BRAIZBLATT: No, the airport authority asked me to come out as see these long objects, these long boxes that we knew nothing about, that they were going to be on board the aircraft.  They said, look, here's a very long object that couldn't be off-loaded manually, you just can't off-load it from a 747, very difficult.  Once again, I'm speaking about something that's about 3 1/2  - 4 metres in length.

MR MAGADHLA: Was there no interest in knowing what the object was?

MR BRAIZBLATT: On whose part?

MR MAGADHLA: Your part and on the part of the people who called you to see the object.