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 Plane loses engine during take off
    November 08 2007 at 07:14AM Get IOL on your
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By Babalo Ndenze and Quinton Mtyala

Commuters at Cape Town International Airport were left in shock on Wednesday when a Nationwide Airlines plane lost an engine during take off, forcing it to land.

It was the second incident involving an aircraft at the airport in less than a week.

The incident happened about 4pm, according to Alvin Driver who witnessed the plane losing its engine from a restaurant at the airport.

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"I was sitting at the Spur as the Nationwide plane was taking off. Then all of a sudden the engine came off its wing. It relanded and fire brigades came. It's still on the side of the tarmac," said Driver a few minutes after the accident.

He said it didn't look like anyone had been injured.
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"There were quite a number of people here. I don't know what's going on with Cape Town International," said Driver, who was waiting for a friend flying in from Johannesburg.

Kyla Hayes, who was on the plane, flying to Johannesburg on a connecting flight to London, said there was a clear "bang" as the plane took off.

"There was this bang and the whole plane just lurched to one side. For a while it seemed as if the plane could not get any height," said Hayes.

The plane eventually rose, as one of the passengers alerted cabin crew that an engine had "fallen off".

"We flew for another 30 minutes and the crew trained us in emergency flight procedures.

"As we landed they shouted at us to brace," said Hayes.

He described the landing as perfect.

Phillippe Reynaud, another passenger on the plane, said after take-off the plane circled around False Bay.

"We assumed the pilot was dumping the plane's fuel load over the bay, afterwards we went into the emergency flight procedure," said Reynaud.

Several tour groups from UK were aboard. They were on their way to catch connecting flights to London.

A tour guide, who didn't want to be identified, said he had dropped off members of his party at the airport, returning immediately when he heard of the incident.

He said some passengers had received trauma counselling at the airport's international arrivals section while plans were made to get them on to other flights.

The incident follows Friday's mayhem when a Airbus went off the main runway, burying its front wheel in sand.

The airport was closed to all inbound and outbound flights for about two-and-a-half hours following the incident.

An official at Nationwide's head office in Johannesburg declined to give details of the incident, only saying that "flight 723 landed safely without any injuries".

Airports Company of SA spokesperson Deidre Hendricks said the runway was closed for about 10 minutes due to debris on the runway from the aircraft.

"The airport's fire and rescue immediately responded and by 4.10pm the runway was cleared. The departing aircraft returned for landing at 4.29pm and landed safely," said Hendricks.

She said the runway was opened at 5pm after it was cleared and declared safe for use.

"I can confirm that six aircraft have been diverted to George airport as a result of the runway closure," said Hendricks.

babalo.ndenze@inl.co.za



    • This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Times on November 08, 2007
Showing page 1 of 2 comment pages, 11 total comments
106 Weeks ago Magado wrote :
Oh well , congra ke to the pilot but then again these planes need to be checked regulary ...coz next time we won't be congratulating the pilot but will be sending our deepest condolences to some families including his!!
106 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
What more needs to happen before they increase the saftey and security measures taken on planes? Thank you to our highly skilled pilots and crew who dealt with the situation so well.
106 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
Just as well they made it. I hope airlines in this country aren't skimping on maintenance too much so as to keep their bottom lines up. I am so glad they didn't crash. Other planes that have lost an engine have. Just watch 'Seconds from Disaster' and 'Air Crash Investigation' on National Geographic channel on DSTV and you'll see what I mean !!
106 Weeks ago Passenger 6B wrote :
I was a passenger of the Nationwide flight that lost it's engine, and even though the situation was extreme, I can safetly say that the Pilot and staff on the flight did a superb job. I take my hat off to them. The ACSA staff were also quick to respond and ensured that everything was taken care of once we landed. However, the way Nationwide dealt with the situation after we were safe on the ground, left a lot to be desired. The only communication we received was from the ACSA staff who were clearly frustrated at the lack of involvement from the Nationwide Ground Staff. Nationwide: Your pilot and cabin crew were excellent. The ground staff and subsequent handling of the passengers left a lot to be desired.
106 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
safety check reports should be made public - and airlines to be exposed for not conforming to correct safety practice...outsourced agencies must audit these safety checks and publish them. I fly often and now am petrififed to do so in this country.
106 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
I agree with the first commentor. Even though the flight crew was very exceptional in how they handled their situation, it should not have happened in the first place. How often are these planes checked?
106 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
If Cape Town ever wanted to proof that God exists and miracles do happen, this is one of them! Praise be to God!
106 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
Well done to the pilots. Yes it is scary but planes are mechanical and even being safety checked problems will happen. There is a reason that big planes like this have more than one engine. SA planes safety record compares very well with eg US and almost every major airline has had a disaster of some sort. Andre, all airlines, not just low-cost ones, have planes that fly around all day - I have had more than delay on SAA or BA because the plane has been delayed on incoming. It would be impossible for anyone to offer an affordable fare if they only flew one return route on each plane a day!
106 Weeks ago andre wrote :
i commute often between cape town and joburg; this is a signal to have all these planes rechecked for safety and standards; many a time when i fly flights are delayed on low cost carriers because they had a hick-up at another airport - i.e. they use the same plane for n number of flights per day. this needs to be looked at. don't add south africa to the list of statistics for plane crashes due to negligence or oversight! please! we trust our pilots and ACSA.
106 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
WOW, the pilot and crew must have been exceptional! Well done!! Losing an engine on take off must be VERY hard to get around...Glad all are safe!!
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