Arthur Ricketts
It is with great sadness that we have to report that Capt Arthur Ricketts passed away suddenly on Thursday 5th December 2019 aged 81. Arthur was always a keen supporter of this website and became a personal friend. He later introduced me to the EAA brethren at the Reunions and was always interested in anything to do with East African or his favourite aeroplane – the Super VC10. He was a family man and enthusiastic pilot to the end. Supported by his wife Marjorie and long after he retired from EAA and British Aerospace, he continued his flying with Cessnas in the UK and floatplanes on Lake Garda.
Our thoughts are with Marjorie and the family.
It was shocking to hear of the sudden death of Capt. Ricketts. Sadly Eastaf seems to be losing a lot of good people and highly efficient pilots.
May the Almighty God rest Capt. Ricketts and all the other colleagues gone in 2019, in His Beautiful Heaven, “Hangar” if you wish.
My condolences to Mrs. Ricketts and all other bereaved relatives and friends.
All are loved and thought of.
Please remember that, we are comforted by the the thought that we are all in transit waiting to join our gone friends in the next world where there will be no sadness and weeping.
My sincere thoughts and prayers to all bereaved families and friends.
R.I.P.
with respect, could I ask if this is the Arthur Rickets who was a test pilot for British Aerospace on the Hawker 125 aircraft. later working for BP, If so I flew with him many times over several years.
RIP Arthur.
This is the Pilot who was flying OK1, Botswana’s presidential jet in 1988 when it was shot down over Angola. He managed to land safely with one engine.
Remembering Captain Arthur Ricketts – a true aviation legend.
Some acts of courage become part of history. Others become part of the lives of the people who were saved by them.
Captain Arthur Ricketts was one such man.
In August 1988, while flying Botswana’s presidential aircraft, OK-1, over Angola, Ricketts found himself in one of the most terrifying emergencies imaginable. The aircraft, carrying Botswana’s President, Sir Ketumile J. K. Quett Masire, and members of his official delegation to Luanda, was struck by missiles fired by an Angolan fighter.
The right-hand engine was blown completely off the aircraft. The explosion sent shrapnel through the fuselage, damaged the aircraft severely and injured people on board. The Botswana pilot was incapacitated, leaving Arthur Ricketts — occupying the right-hand seat as a British Aerospace training pilot — to take control.
With an aircraft catastrophically damaged and flying at 35,000 feet, Ricketts somehow kept his composure, wrestled the crippled jet under control and brought it safely down at Cuito Bie, a remote airstrip in Angola.
Every life on board could so easily have been lost that day.
Instead, because of extraordinary skill, courage and presence of mind, President Masire, his delegation and the crew survived. Contemporary reports credited Ricketts with playing a major role in bringing the crippled aircraft safely to the ground.
That was more than flying an aeroplane.
That was saving lives.
For those of us who remember and honour the legacy of President Sir Ketumile Masire, the name Arthur Ricketts deserves a special place in our history. He was not merely a pilot carrying a head of state; at a moment of unimaginable danger, he became the difference between tragedy and survival.
Captain Ricketts went on to live a long and distinguished life in aviation, but his extraordinary feat over Angola will forever stand as a testament to what professionalism, courage and mastery of one’s craft can achieve in the face of disaster.
Today, I salute a remarkable man who served his country and, in doing so, helped save the lives of our own.
Thank you, Captain Arthur Ricketts, for your service, your courage and your extraordinary skill.
May you Rest in Peace.
The world could use a million more like you.
Arthur Ricketts — RIP.
Aviation legend. Life-saver. Hero. Never forgotten.