Friday, November 25, 2016

Ethiopia releases vintage air rally pilots

A German pilot checks his Bu 131 Bucker Jungmann biplane after landing at an airfield in Cairo, Egypt during the Vintage Air Rally (VAR) on November 13, 2016.
The pilots of at least 20 aircraft taking part in a vintage plane rally have been released after being detained in Ethiopia, officials say.
The group had been held at the airport in Gambela, western Ethiopia after crossing "illegally" into the country from Sudan.
Organisers say the group is now free to continue their journey to South Africa.
The aviators are travelling the length of Africa in biplanes built between 1920s and 1940s and support aircraft.
The group announced on its Facebook page that: "VintageAirRally crew are allowed to fly on from Ethiopia!"
The rally had been suspended while diplomats tried to secure the release of least 47 crew members in the past two days.
Travel Air 2000 biplane sits on runway on November 20, 2016 in Khartoum airport during the Vintage Air RallyImage copyrightAFP
Image captionThe planes date from the 1920s and 1930s
The planes took off from the Greek island of Crete on 12 November on a 13,000km (8,000 mile) journey to Cape Town.
However, the head of Ethiopia's civil aviation authority, Wosenyele Hungnall, told the BBC that the aircraft had crossed illegally into Ethiopian airspace from Sudan.
A British pilot who had been reported missing was found to be among those detained.
On its Facebook page, Vintage Air Rally said that Maurice Kirk, 72, was with other pilots in Gambela who were all "safe and accounted for".


The aviators aim to cross 10 countries, making 37 stops in more than a month with Kenya as their next planned stop. Read more here

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