Special Hearings — Helderberg Flight Special Hearing — 1998-06-02

VERNON NADEL: If I can give you a brief history of my career path I would be more than happy if you would like to hear it.  After the Helderberg I was still in flight operations.  I moved to what we call route clearance unit which was a sideways move, meaning that I didn't have to work weekends.  I actually took a drop in salary because there was no Sunday time and overtime worked.
 In 1990 they advertised in the national press as well as internally within the airline for trainee overseas managers.  I applied for the job in 1990 along with 160 others from all walks of life, within the airline, from outside of the airline.  I went through a process of  psychometric testing.  I did management courses and was eventually invited in January 1991 to be interviewed.  
 I got through the interview, there were ten of us left.  Eventually two people decided on their own to step down from the training course and I then proceeded to go on a years training course as an overseas manager.  I did various functional, non functional management courses.  Functional courses within the airline, reservations, ticketing, sales, marketing.  
 The functional courses, and that's on record, it can be obtained, I didn't receive anything lower than 90+ percentage for the examinations.  I was successful after the years training course and I was selected out of the eight.  Five of us were eventually sent as trainee managers abroad.  I spent nine months as a trainee manager before I was eventually promoted to manager in Miami.  
 I started Miami from zero ground base.  We had one flight a week.  We had no infrastructure at all.  I set it up.  After five years we were flying five times a week.  Miami grew to be the most successful.  The No. 1 route in our world-wide network in terms of revenue, load factors etc.  So I'm a little concerned that the speculation is that I got this promotion because of what I know and what I'm not prepared to discuss with anybody else and I think I earned it through merit.  
 In actual fact my latest appointment to South America, Mr Nombeti approved himself.

DR KLATZOW: Mr Nadel we're not for one moment doubting your ability.  We're  merely saying that your rise in the light of what occurred and in the light of your original position is meteoric to say the least.  Now whether it's meteoric because of what you know or meteoric because of your extraordinary abilities, I have not speculated on.

CHAIRPERSON: But then I think I must say, sitting from where I'm sitting, it will assist us in order to be either accept or dispel the speculation if we don't get the impression that you are evasive about your wage levels.

VERNON NADEL: No no.

CHAIRPERSON: I think in the confidentiality of this room and in this enquiry if a question is put to you, how much were you earning at the time, how much are you earning now, then we can be placed in a position where we are able to compare and see if we can make something out of it.  That's my only concern you know that as you were saying you don't want to speculate about your wage, earning levels, I was slightly becoming uncomfortable because I knew that the same sort of questions were put for instance to one of your seniors and he was asked for a comment and I think in your own interest if you were candid about this and if you accepted that though it is a private matter but it will be confidentially treated, in your own interests.

VERNON NADEL: Mr Chairman thank you.  Obviously an overseas manager's position is a highly sought after position in terms of your overseas posting, the environment you stay in, the added benefits that you get in terms of foreign currency, my salary in Miami was 50 000 US dollars.  Now everybody is going to convert that to South African Rands and say, the guys a millionaire.
 In actual fact that's not true.  If you take the cost of living abroad, I think we can all do our maths.  It's not a mega salary to be earning.  My salary in South Africa was obviously South African Rand and I must be very honest with you, I cannot recall what my salary was but it took four years, four and a half years to get from the fateful day to Miami.

CHAIRPERSON: Dr Klatzow?

DR KLATZOW: Thank you Mr Nadel.  Now earlier on I dealt with the issue of standing orders with you and you said that if Mr Du Toit said that there were standing orders and that there was a standing instruction, that he was mistaken and that there was no such thing?

VERNON NADEL: Yes.

DR KLATZOW: Is it possible that both Mr Du Toit and Mr Dick could be wrong?

VERNON NADEL: Yes.

DR KLATZOW: On this issue?

VERNON NADEL: Yes.

DR KLATZOW: So they are both wrong and you are right?

VERNON NADEL: Yes.

DR KLATZOW: Let me read you what Mr Dick says.  In response to a question from Mr Du Toit he says, Mr Dick says,
"I presume we all have our own way of working but the standing order is between one and a half and two hours, up to two hours is acceptable.
Where is this standing order?  It is kept on file at ZUR Radio Station"
Is he lying?

VERNON NADEL: I don't believe that standing order has ever come to light.

DR KLATZOW: Please answer my question.  Is Mr Dick lying?

VERNON NADEL: I believe he made a false statement, yes.

DR KLATZOW: Why would he want to do that?

VERNON NADEL: I don't know.

DR KLATZOW: Mr Dick went into the details of what needed to be done.

VERNON NADEL: I believe it's very similar to what Mr Du Toit said as well.

DR KLATZOW: That is correct.  But they differ from you, both of them differ from you in saying that despite the fact that there are standing orders you say there are no such standing orders?

VERNON NADEL: Absolutely.  The only standing orders I have is I believe I gave you the copy.

DR KLATZOW: Now I did not have the advantage at the Margo enquiry of seeing your demeanour in the witness box.  But Mr Southwood did.  Mr Southwood put it to you very bluntly that you were lying.  He said you are making up what you are telling this commission.  Why would he do that?

VERNON NADEL: I don't know.

DR KLATZOW: Could you give me a reason?

VERNON NADEL: No I can't because I was under oath as I am now and I stick by that I said no then and I'll say no now again.

DR KLATZOW: Let us go through the problem that we have with your evidence.  And I want to deal with something else before I do that.  Were there any other things, any other records made on that tape of problems experienced by aircraft that evening?

VERNON NADEL: I don't have a copy of the tape so I don't know.

DR KLATZOW: Do you remember anything?

VERNON NADEL: No.

DR KLATZOW: It's likely that you would have remembered?

VERNON NADEL: If there was something that was untoward I would believe I would've remembered.

DR KLATZOW: Let's assume for instance an aeroplane had an engine failure.  It would be the sort of thing that they would phone back and say guys we've had an engine failure, do you think you could get a spare engine up here?

VERNON NADEL: They would try and call and/or send a fax, not a fax a telex.

DR KLATZOW: Correct, to you?

VERNON NADEL: To operations yes.

DR KLATZOW: Yes.  And you would be aware of that?

VERNON NADEL: I should be aware of it yes.

DR KLATZOW: Were you aware of anything else that evening?

VERNON NADEL: Yes there was an aircraft on the ground in Sol Island.

DR KLATZOW: What was wrong with it?

VERNON NADEL: I believe they had to, they had some technical problem which they had to bring an aircraft engine I think from Europe somewhere, I'm not sure.

DR KLATZOW: Yes.  Was that on the ZUR tape?

VERNON NADEL: I'm not sure either.

DR KLATZOW: Did they contact you?

VERNON NADEL: If you have a copy of the logbook possibly but if not I don't know.  They could have telephoned or sent a telex.

DR KLATZOW: And you would have been aware of both?

VERNON NADEL: I would believe so yes.