‘False positive’: Dan Roodt defends tweets about pilot’s death

Front Nasionaal political party founder Dan Roodt has defended his controversial tweets about veteran pilot James O’Connell, who died in an air crash at the Saldanha Bay Air Show over the weekend.

In his tweet that he has since deleted, the Afrikaans activist initially believed the pilot to be a person of colour who benefited from “race laws.”

DAN ROODT DEFENDS PILOT TWEETS

In a half-hearted apology, Dan Roodt addressed X users who were “offended” by his tweets.

He posted in response to a critic: “My comment on the pilot turned out to be a ‘false positive’ as I had the wrong information: it was not an Air Force plane but a private one, and the pilot turned out to be a professional test pilot. I apologise for that, and his death saddens me. 

However, Roodt seemingly defended his tweet, adding: “However, thousands of people die every day, directly or indirectly, because of DEI or affirmative action.”

Every single dollar withheld from the toxic ANC regime is a good dollar. They should steal less and give that money to HIV and TB research, not ask for handouts form the American taxpayer.

My comment on the pilot turned out to be a "false positive" as I had the wrong…

— Dan Roodt (@danroodt) March 23, 2025

In his initial “apology,” Dan Roodt claimed that he was “not race-baiting” about the pilot’s death.

“It just looked so incongruous that the only immediate explanation that I could think of was that he or she may have been simply appointed on racial grounds, as happens in so many other professions in SA. 

“We know that the state normally discriminates against white people, so that could have explained why there might have been a lack of expertise on the part of the pilot.”

It wasn't race baiting. It just looked so incongruous that the only immediate explanation that I could think of was that he or she may have been simply appointed on racial grounds, as happens in so many other professions in SA. Also, I thought it was an Airforce and not a private…

— Dan Roodt (@danroodt) March 23, 2025

WHAT DID HE TWEET?

With many sharing their condolences to the family of James O’Connell,  Dan Roodt stood out for his controversial tweets about the tragedy.

Incorrectly assuming the pilot’s race, the Front Nasionaal party founder implied that the pilot was unfit for the job and had been hired based on his race.

He tweeted on Saturday, 22 March: “A South African Airforce Impala crashed at the Saldanha Air Show today. As ever, one wonders if whether the pilot was appointed on merit or whether the 142 race laws against white people played a role?”

In another shocking tweet, Dan Roodt tweeted his assumptions about what went wrong before the air crash.

He tweeted, “So the unfortunate pilot of the crashed pilot was apparently James O’Connell, an experienced private test pilot who might have ingested a bird or possibly had a heart attack.”

CELEBS TAKE HIM ON

Dan Roodt’s tweet naturally did not go well with many South Africans, many of whom were high-profile.

Comedian Riaad Moosa commented: “You think Black people, Brown people, Muslim people are beneath you. You feel your culture/nation is superior. That clearly comes across. 

“The difference is there are many people of ALL races in SA – black, white, coloured, Indian who know we’re equal.  You have a condition, and it’s a widespread condition…where you think you’re superior. See all people as equal humans to you”.

BOSA leader Mmusi Maimane tweeted: “You rushed to assume that the pilot was black, that he was incompetent and appointed because of affirmative action.  Those three assertions made in public were malicious and mendacious. 

“What you did was far more pernicious than baiting. You were spreading a narrative based on prejudiced stereotypes”.

Muso The Kiffness added: “The pilot was a white male. May he RIP. Disrespectful to qualified black pilots & disrespectful to the deceased.”

DO YOU THINK DAN ROODT’S APOLOGY WAS SINCERE?

Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.

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