Gunship
7th Nov 2002, 07:10
Link (http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,1113,2-7-1442_1281467,00.html)
Scare for SAA passengers
Wolfram Zwecker
Johannesburg - A passenger and an air hostess were slightly injured when a Boeing 747 SP from South African Airways (SAA), on its way to Bangkok passed through air turbulence and suddenly lost altitude.
Zanele Mbeki, wife of president Thabo Mbeki, was apparently on the flight, said a passenger who wanted to remain anonymous. She was on her way to join the president in Cambodia. The president's office could not confirm the rumours.
Rich Mkondo, executive manager of corporate communications at SAA, confirmed that two people were slightly injured on the flight. The incident happened about 20:35 on Monday evening. A doctor on board the flight examined the passenger and member of the cabin crew.
In another incident - barely a year after the supersonic Concorde airplane was brought back into service - passengers had a narrow escape when one of the four engines developed a problem and the plane rapidly descended 8 000m.
The Concorde was on its way from New York to Paris when one of the engines played up. The pilot immediately switched off the engine and performed an emergency descent from 18 000m to 10 000m while reducing speed to subsonic levels.
Passengers were apparently clinging to each other while glasses and cutlery crashed to the floor. Nobody was injured.
The Concorde, operated exclusively by Air France and British Airways, was taken back into service in November 2001 after a an Air France Concorde crashed shortly after take-off more than two years ago. There were no survivors.
Scare for SAA passengers
Wolfram Zwecker
Johannesburg - A passenger and an air hostess were slightly injured when a Boeing 747 SP from South African Airways (SAA), on its way to Bangkok passed through air turbulence and suddenly lost altitude.
Zanele Mbeki, wife of president Thabo Mbeki, was apparently on the flight, said a passenger who wanted to remain anonymous. She was on her way to join the president in Cambodia. The president's office could not confirm the rumours.
Rich Mkondo, executive manager of corporate communications at SAA, confirmed that two people were slightly injured on the flight. The incident happened about 20:35 on Monday evening. A doctor on board the flight examined the passenger and member of the cabin crew.
In another incident - barely a year after the supersonic Concorde airplane was brought back into service - passengers had a narrow escape when one of the four engines developed a problem and the plane rapidly descended 8 000m.
The Concorde was on its way from New York to Paris when one of the engines played up. The pilot immediately switched off the engine and performed an emergency descent from 18 000m to 10 000m while reducing speed to subsonic levels.
Passengers were apparently clinging to each other while glasses and cutlery crashed to the floor. Nobody was injured.
The Concorde, operated exclusively by Air France and British Airways, was taken back into service in November 2001 after a an Air France Concorde crashed shortly after take-off more than two years ago. There were no survivors.