ESAT News
January 28, 2015
Ethiopian Air Force pilots that defected last month flying a helicopter: Major Samuel Gidey, Lieutenant Bilelegn Desalegn and technician Tesgabirhan Gidey, have said to ESAT that they are in good condition.
Speaking from the third country that they are now, they have said that they are prepared to contribute to the freedom struggle in Ethiopia.
They said they had been waiting for the date they would be assigned together and when the right time came, they defected according to their plans. Flying as low as 10 meters to hide from being tracked by radars, the pilots said they had run out of fuel when they reached in their destination.
The nepotism, racism, favourism and maladministration within the Air Force forced them to take such a decision and most members of the Air Force are ready to run away from the Air Force when they get a chance the crew told ESAT.
The crew members have promised to hold an interview with ESAT after completing some issues.
Separately, ESAT’s journalists, who had stayed in Eritrea on a reportorial mission for the past three weeks, have spoken with various air force pilots that had defected from the Force during different times.
Pilots of Su-27 and MiG-23 aircrafts are now struggling along with opposition forces based in Eritrea. ESAT’s interview with the pilots will be aired in the coming days.
Source: http://ethsat.com/defecting-pilots-tell-esat-they-are-well-from-a-third-country/