Special Report Transcript Episode 24, Section 5, Time 29:35

But what if, and this has never been considered properly, what if it had been mere mischief, what if they did not actually bargain on killing Machel but merely wanted his plane to violate South African air space and be forced to land in Durban, the only airport it could have reached with its limited fuel. In fact, if the pilot had not ignored the ground proximity warning system that went off shortly before they crashed, that is what would have happened, and he only ignored it because the warning system in that aircraft had played up before. Did the military have knowledge of the discussions between the four presidents in northern Zambia that day? We know now they talked about isolating the South African military’s other friend, UNITA in Angola and planned action against yet another ally, Malawi’s Hastings Banda, who was supporting RENAMO. In fact, documents to this effect were according to then Foreign Affairs Mr. Pik Botha found in the Machel wreck.

Notes: Aftermath of the Machel plane crash, funeral of deceased

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