SOUTH Africa is a land of plenty, but one thing that is always hard to come by is heroes.

In a week in which 298 people died in one of the world's worst aviation disasters, when a Malaysian Airlines plane was shot down in Ukraine, there can only be one charmza.

Two days before the disaster, South Africa had a scare of its own when an SAA plane carrying 165 passengers was hit by severe turbulence.

The hero pilot did not panic but did what was required of him, saving all on board by landing safely.

 Only 25 people were injured in an incident that had the potential to visit horror upon our nation.