'I'll never fly 1time again'
2008-03-17 14:01
Johannesburg - 1time passengers were shocked by the sound of rattling and what they later found out was an engine failing - as their Durban-bound plane tried to take off on Sunday evening.
Kai Steyn, 28 was on her second delayed 1time flight that day. Her flight from East London to Johannesburg was 30 minutes late, and she boarded flight 1T219 from Johannesburg to Durban at 18:00 on Sunday - about an hour after the flight was supposed to depart.
1time spokesperson, Anya Potgieter told News24 the aircraft was delayed as it had a flat tyre after hitting debris in a previous flight. "ACSA is responsible for keeping the runways debris free, hence this delay was completely out of our control," she said.
However as the plane started taxing down the runway to take off, passengers heard what sounded like tyres popping and were shocked into complete silence as the entire plane started shaking.
'We're going to try again'
"There was a huge noise by the right side of the engine," said Kai, who works for a timber company in Plettenberg Bay and had flown to Johannesburg for a wedding.
She said the pilot told the passengers he would try to take off again. On the second attempt one of the engines failed. "We were all freaking out thinking that it could have happened while we were in the air," said Steyn. "I can't believe the pilot actually said: 'we're going to try again'."
Potgieter said there was a compressor problem with one of the engines. The airline swapped aircraft causing what they said was a three hour delay in the flight.
However Steyn said she and the rest of the passengers waited until 22:30 for the flight to leave - more than five hours after the initial departure time - during which time there was no information forthcoming from the airline.
"I think half of the people went and booked in hotels because they couldn't take it any more," said Steyn.
The remaining passengers finally reached Durban close to midnight, according to Steyn, while Potgieter said the flight arrived at 21:40.
"I must say I'll never ever fly with 1time again in my life," said Steyn.
Potgieter said the airline was in the process of sending out apology letters and compensation to all passengers affected by the situation.