BIOGRAPHY

Piet Van Riet former Fighter Pilot and Captain for SABENA World Airlines tells his experiences in international aviation. An objective professional biography of a successful career, spiced with humour and tragedy.

Piet Van Riet was born in Hamme (Flanders, Belgium) on March 10, 1931. At the age of seven, his family moved to Dendermonde (Flanders) where he finished elementary school. He then started high-school at the Saint Virgin episcopal College. During the last (sixth) year of Greek-Latin studies, he had to abandon his studies for medical reasons. In order to escape one year of mandatory militaryservice, Piet decided to take a more exhilarating path and to become a pilot in the Belgian Air Force.

Piet signed a first contract of five years on March 5, 1951 under the condition to become a pilot. He obtained his Silver Wings the , 1952 in Williams Air Force Base, Arizona. Piet then joined the Fighter Pilot school at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona before returning to the Belgian Air Force on Nov 6, 1952 at the Florennes’ airbase. On March 1, 1954, he signed a new contract of one year as an officer in the auxiliary program. On February 28, 1955, he joined the reserve of the Belgian Air Force where he was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel Pilot on March 1, 1981.

Piet started his civilian aviation career with Sabena on September 1, 1955, where he became captain in less than two years. He retired from Sabena at the age of sixty, the retirement age at the time, on March 10, 1991.