Joburg flight 'was traumatic'

2005-09-09 14:31

Estrelita Moses

Cape Town - A passenger on board a Nationwide Airlines flight was left reeling on Monday night by the seeming non-chalance of the plane's captain after its No 1 engine was shut down.

The flight which was meant to leave Johannesburg for Cape Town at 16:25 was delayed by half an hour.

"About 35 minutes into the flight, the captain announced the No 1 engine had failed and we were returning to Johannesburg," passenger Athol Williams told News24.

"The flight back to Johannesburg was absolutely traumatic. I fly between Cape Town and Joburg almost twice a week and have never experienced anything like this. I'm a mechanical engineer by training and understand a plane can fly with just one engine but not hearing anything from the captain to reassure us things were under control was terrifying.

"As the plane twisted, dropped and rattled, I was convinced we were in serious trouble. Many passengers were having serious anxiety attacks."

The plane made it back to Johannesburg safely but the airline's response was far from adequate, according to Williams. "I was appalled by Nationwide staff's reaction. All the captain said was 'apologies for the inconvenience, these things happen'.

"This was of very little comfort to passengers who'd had a brush with death."

No formal announcement

Arrangements were made for passengers to catch another flight. "But even on that second flight, not much was said. Although the captain did walk through the plane and chat to a few passengers no formal announcement or apology was made. And we're still waiting for an apology, it's the least one can expect."

Another passenger who did not want to be identified also said staff didn't appear to be "too perturbed" by the incident. "The announcement was very quiet. All I wanted to do was get off the plane, I wanted to become hysterical. We did hear a bang.

"The weather was horrendous and the flight out was very bumpy to start with. After being told thrice by the captain the plane had lost one engine, the thought of turning around and flying back an engine down wasn't exactly comforting.

"Although it did appear to be contained and most passengers were relatively calm, it was clear they were shaken. I held the passenger next to me's hand the entire way back to Joburg.

She added that once the plane had landed and passengers had disembarked, a cursory glance revealed it appeared the engine had opened up and was leaking.

"It's the first and last time I fly with Nationwide."

Commercial manager for Nationwide Airlines, Roger Whittle, denied allegations that the pilot or cabin crew had acted inappropriately.

"Feedback I got from some passengers was that the incident had been handled superbly by the cabin crew. And that the cabin crew in particular had been very calm and reassuring.

An abnormal occurrence

Whittle said the "failed" engine wasn't an emergency, but "an abnormal occurrence". A warning light had appeared on the instrument panel in the cockpit, which required that the engine be shut down for safety reasons.

The flight returned to Johannesburg and landed safely without incident. "At no time were the passengers in danger, it was simply precautionary," he added. "A standby flight was made available immediately so passengers could continue on their journey.

"Pilots and cabin crew are trained to handle these situations and as far as I've heard they handled it well. The pilot in question is usually very interactive with passengers so I'm surprised to hear the complaint.

"I think passengers on flights have become incredibly sensitive about flying due to the terror attacks and so on which probably makes a lot of people jumpy." Whittle did stress, however, that any complaint would be addressed.

- News24