Plane makes emergency landing

2009-06-10 17:49

Johannesburg - An air ambulance flying from Cape Town to East London successfully made an emergency landing at Lanseria International Airport, north of Johannesburg on Wednesday.

"The plane is owned by the company Aerocare in Bloemfontein. The pilot and the occupants are fine, there are no casualties... the landing was well executed," the airport's marketing manager Johan Opperman said.

According to reports, the plane's front wheel failed to retract properly and the pilot chose to land at Lanseria rather than fly on to East London.

He called the airport and landed on a runway parallel to the main runway with emergency fire tenders and ambulances in attendance.

Witnesses reportedly said the plane landed normally on approach but, as the nose came down, the front undercarriage failed to support its weight and the plane slid for about 200m before coming to a halt.

The four occupants - two believed to be patients - were evacuated safely.

- SAPA