AfricaPress-mozambique: The commander of Mozambique Airlines (LAM), Bento Pacho, ended his 43-year career as a commercial aviation pilot on Sunday (20 June).
Captain Pacho’s last flight, TM315, in a Boeing 737-700, departed Pemba, Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, for the capital, Maputo.
At Maputo International Airport, Bento Pacho was received by jets of water on the aircraft, launched by the Airport Fire Service, and greeted by personalities including the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Civil Aviation of Mozambique (IACM).
Commander João de Abreu collected Bento Pancho’s Navegante Técnico insignia, the terminology by which pilots are designated, symbolising the end of a career spanning 28,340 flight hours, 26,516 in LAM aircraft and the rest in the Mozambican Air Force, where he began his career in 1976.
“Comandante Bento Pacho ended his long and proud career as a commercial pilot with joy, precisely on the date he celebrated his 65th birthday,” LAM inscribed on its Facebook page.
“Commander Pacho’s departure does not worry us, as he leaves an important legacy in the company, in which he taught several colleagues over the 43 years of his career,” João Carlos Pó Jorge, general director of LAM said.
The head of the national flagship airline also praised the fact that, during “his long journey” at LAM, Commander Pacho spearheaded several social responsibility actions benefiting needy communities in the country and region.
Bento Pacho said that his retirement represented a mixture of joy and sadness at ceasing, due to his age, to practice skills he still enjoys.
“I still have the strength to fly, but I will continue to work in other parts of the aviation sector. I thank the Mozambican nation that gave me the privilege of flying within it, my parents, national and foreign instructors, LAM and my family, who endured being alone while I travelled,” he said.
During his long career as an aviator, Bento Pacho sat in the cockpit of Boeing 737-200, 737-300, 737-500, 737-700, Fokker 100 and Embraer 190 aircraft, in which he reached the rank of captain, in addition to the McDonnell Douglas DC10 where he was co-pilot and flight engineer.
