By Shalala Oliver Sepiso

Yesterday, after The Football Association of Zambia published a picture of the Zambia Women’s National Teams arrival at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport in front of the ZAF Military Transport plane, a lot of commentary emerged. My elder brother Engineer Chaikatisha even suggested that “After the demise of the 1993 Soccer team, Military Planes were banned from transporting civilians. Just charter. If this is the plane being used then it’s another level of Irresponsibility.”

Now I don’t know who banned military planes. However, these are used in football a lot. Nkana used military planes and in fact this same one used by our girls yesterday. Nkana used it to go to Eswatini. And to Angola. And because we have no TAAG Angola flights to Angola anymore, many teams have used this same plane to Angola. Red Arrows used it to Angola I think twice. Green Buffaloes and/or Green Eagles also used it to Angola. The Zambia Netball Team competing in Botswana at the Africa Cup used this plane. Locally, former presidents and vice presidents have used this same planes to move around the country.

We can’t hate all military planes because of the DHC-5 Buffalo transport aircraft of the Zambian Air Force that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after taking off from Libreville, Gabon on the evening of 27th April 1993 as it was carrying most of the Zambian national football team to a 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Senegal in Dakar. How many civilian planes crash around the world? Will FIFA ban all similar models of planes that crash?

In comparison , that de Havilland Canada (DHC-5D) Buffalo aircraft, which crashed in 1993 was quiet old, having entered service in 1975. And the plane had been out of service for five months from late 1992 until 21st April 1993, just before the accident. It was 18 years old. The one used yesterday by The Copper Queens, is the Alenia C-27J Spartan transport aircraft manufactured by Leonardo in Italy and it is a Zambia Air Force plane with a tail registration number of “AF-003”. Zambian C-27Js have registrations AF002 and AF003 as the serial AF001 is allocated to the controversial and infamous presidential Zambian Air Force’s Gulfstream 650ER jet. This plane used by the Copper Queens was bought in 2018 and it was ordered in 2015. Its is 5 years old in service and hence relatively brand new. It is a multi-purpose military aircraft that can be configured as a passenger plane or cargo plane or even both. (The picture showing the plane parked and free of people or cargo and is that of the plane taken on 21st August 2019 at Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg.)

Out of the 115 C-27Js ever built, Zambia bought 2 and – elsewhere in Africa – Chad, Morocco and Kenya have ordered C-27Js. The Zambian planes were was brought in to add new tactical transport capability and supplements the Y-12-II, Y-12-4 and MA-60. The two planes were bought and added to the No9 Air Transport Support Command at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport ZAF Base. They were added to a modern ZAF fleet, which had just seen a lot of Chinese aircraft added including 10 Shenyang F-6A (MiG-19) fighters, 16 Hongdu JL-8 and six L-15 armed jet trainers, seven Harbin Z-9 helicopters, eight Harbin Y-12-II and Y-12-4 19-seat utility transport aircraft, and two Xian MA60 64-seat turboprop airliners.

This Spartan used by the Copper Queens has a fully digital MIL-STD-1553 avionics architecture, an updated cargo compartment, and is fitted with Rolls-Royce AE 2100D2A engines and six-bladed Dowty propellers, similar to those fitted to the C-130J Super Hercules. The Spartan can carry a maximum payload of up to 11.5 tonnes, including up to 60 troops or 46 paratroopers, or 36 stretchers and six attendants depending on density configuration used.

Its ability to operate from the most rudimentary airstrips and in extreme environmental conditions makes this plane ideal for operating in this side of the world. It was for this reason that in March this year, following the devastating floods that rocked the southern parts of Malawi, Zambia responded to the call from that country with relief items to will help those who had been affected by Cyclone Freddy using this plane. DMMU National Coordinator Dr. Gabriel Pollen led the effort.

For the record, one of the players who used that plane is Pauline Chisomo Sepiso Zulu, a player from my team The Elite Ladies. She had a great game in Angola and this was not her debut appearance in the senior team. She has already played 5 friendly matches and completed all 5. Plus 4 competitive matches at COSAFA which she also completed. This was her 10th cap including friendly matches and competitive matches in the senior national team.

In ending on this plain issue (pun intended), as Joseph Nyirenda cleverly quipped: “Since they have arrived safely it is ok.” Hahaha