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Engine falls off CT plane
07/11/2007 17:08 - (SA)
Cape Town - Eyewitnesses say an engine has fallen off a plane as it was taking off from Cape Town International airport.
ACSA spokesperson Deidre Hendricks said the runway was closed for about ten minutes at 16:00 "due to debris on the runway from a departing aircraft".
Hendricks confirmed the plane affected was a Nationwide airlines fligh en route to Johannesburg. It was due to land at 17:30.
ACSA said the pilot performed an emergency landing at Cape Town International airport and there have been no reports of any injuries.
Cape Town Disaster Management is providing trauma counseling for the passengers.
Earlier, the airport runway had been closed to clear debris - and what was believed to be an engine from the plane - from the runway.
It was expected that the incident would also cause delays at OR Tambo Airport.
According to a caller on Capetalk Radio who was in a plane that landed shortly after the affected plane took off, an engine could be seen lying on the runway at Cape Town International.
"They took off and left the engine behind," he said.
"It was an engine lying on the ground."
Another eyewitness reported seeing a Nationwide plane flying overhead with smoke coming out of the right side of the plane.
Traffic was also backing up in the Cape Town International airport area due to the incident. - News24 and Sapa.
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