SAA's Captain Delport recalls safely landing plane after getting shot in the neck
He was shot in the neck and miraculously survived. He tells Rian that he still has the bullet lodged in his neck to this day.
Captain Mark Delport has been a certified pilot for 38 years, spending 31 of those working for South African Airways. It's safe to say that the Captain is one pilot who has had his fair share of air travel highlights.
Captain Delport's name will forever be in the aviation history books after his heroic efforts to safely land SAA flight SA286 amid severe clear air turbulence over Kuala Lumpur in 2014.
Captain Delport shared a story from his army days when, at just 20, he survived an enemy attack on the plane that he was flying. He had one passenger on the flight with him when several gunshots were fired at the aircraft. Fortunately, the passenger was not hit and Captain Delport managed to steer the plane away from the scene safely.
He was shot in the neck but, miraculously, was not severely injured. He tells us that he still has the bullet lodged in his neck to this day. Captain Delport showed us the flight suit he was wearing on that day.