The flight instructor who accused pilot Tumi Katisi of “using her skin colour” to get ahead in aviation has apologised in person.
Alexander Villette lost his job at WestAir Aviation after accusing Katisi via an Instagram direct message of using her race to get to fly a high-performance PC12 aircraft.
They met after Villette contacted Katisi via email seeking a meeting so he could apologise personally.
Villette said being accused of racism “weighed heavily on my conscience, and meeting face-to-face with Tumi allowed us to engage in honest dialogue, seek common ground and mutual understanding.
“I am committed to learning and working with Tumi on being positive role models for young aviators. This experience has humbled me. I’ve learnt that words hold immense power.”
Katisi from Soweto, who beat the odds and relied on sponsorships to become a pilot, shared a screengrab of Villette’s offensive barb on her social media last month to “name and shame him”.
Villette’s message to her read: “Wish I was like you. Getting all the opportunities to fly PC12s with all the extra sessions because of my skin colour.”
I am committed to learning and working with Tumi on being positive role models for young aviators. This experience has humbled me. I’ve learnt that words hold immense power.
— Alexander Villette
Katisi was glad they had met in person and found common ground.
“Alex was adamant that he wanted to set things right in person and accept accountability. My friends were reticent, initially, but I believed Alex could be educated and had an opportunity to accept accountability for his actions,” she said.
Though being “caught a little off guard” by his request to meet, she was open to “sincere and honest dialogue”.
“My core beliefs are centred on love and forgiveness. Accompanied by two close friends, we met at a restaurant in Cape Town and had a discussion,” she said.
Katisi said she had forgiven Villette before the outcome of their meeting and was positive about teaming up to assist “upcoming” aviators.
“I heard him out and he also understood the impact of how everything occurred. We are looking into how we can play a positive role together for upcoming aviators and generations to come,” she said.
Katisi was aware the venture may be seen by some as damage control but was confident Villette regretted his actions and was sincere.
“Every person has the right to express their own views or opinion. I believe he had no incentive to exercise damage control or execute a PR stunt. His demeanour and expression of regret were sincere,” she added.
She said whether others would accept Villette's apology or not was something she had no control over.
“Essentially, at the end of the day, only Alex will know if he has changed and grown from this hard life lesson. This is 2024. There is a huge public demand for accountability, and it seems that Alex met that threshold. He held himself accountable,” Katisi said.
Villette said he has “learnt that as millennials, it is our unique responsibility to build bridges to unite, we have more in common than we realise”.
“I am committed to ongoing inner work and self-reflection. Also, reconciliation is a journey, and I hope that Tumi and my story will inspire others to engage in difficult conversations and seek peace and healing,” he said.
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