Tail cone debris on runway delays flights
April 17, 2005
By Igsaan Salie
Cape Town International Airport flights were delayed for about 90 minutes on Friday night when a tail cone covering on a 1Time Airlines plane fell off and hit the runway on landing.
The 157-seater MB82 aircraft from Johannesburg landed safely but airport staff had to clear the runway of debris. Rodney James, director of marketing and operations at 1Time, said the fibreglass tailcone covering the back of the aircraft had fallen off as the jet aircraft came in to land.
He said the cone covered the rear emergency exit of the aircraft and was not a structural feature.
"It is an aerodynamic thing and neither the crew nor the passengers were even aware that it had come off," he said.
The cone is fitted with a clamping mechanism which attaches it to the plane and can be manually released to expose the emergency exit door if it is needed.
James said the airline was investigating whether the cone was accidentally released by the crew or had come loose. A new tail cone has since been fitted.