Readers might be able to relate to four kids skipping school to hang around the airport but some South African truants got a lot more than they bargained for last week. According to news24.com, the kids, aged seven to 11 (gender mix unknown) snuck into a hangar at the local airport near their homes in Plettenberg Bay, about 400 miles east of Cape Town, as the owner was putting his Jabiru 430 to bed after a local flight. After helping themselves to a few drinks from the fridge of a boat also stored in the hangar, the youngsters found the aircraft’s keys under a floor mat and the rest is insurance history.
They got the engine started, firewalled it and it plowed through the hangar wall where the engine kept screaming at full throttle, the aircraft held back by its wings. A nearby pilot saw it all and managed to shut the Jabiru down before it self-destructed. Authorities are inspecting the airplane and engine to see what can be salvaged. None of the kids was hurt, at least not by the airplane accident. They were rounded up by their parents and the school principal. Authorities have talked to them and are investigating but they’re likely too young to be prosecuted or to be held responsible for the damage.
