1Time plane makes emergency landing
2010-06-23 18:58
Johannesburg - A 1Time aircraft had to return to King Shaka Airport outside Durban immediately after take-off because of problems with the landing gear on Wednesday, the SA Civil Aviation Authority said.
"What happened is that immediately after take-off, the crew noticed an indicator showing that one of the landing gears did not retract as expected.
"As a precaution, the crew decided to return to King Shaka International Airport in order to get the engineers to look into the problem," said spokesperson Kabelo Ledwaba.
"Before landing, the pilot did a few circles and a fly-over in order to get the ground crew to confirm if the problematic landing gear is out and (the aircraft was) in the proper landing position."
Inspectors were at the airport and spoke to the crew after landing.
"It was eventually agreed that the aircraft would fly, without passengers and with its landing gear out, back to Johannesburg so that proper maintenance checks and tests can be done on the aircraft before it can be released back into service."
Ledwaba said this was a minor incident and the crew followed the right procedures to get the aircraft safely back on the ground.
- SAPA
