Flight 723: pilot praised for keeping calm
By Asa Sokopo and Henri Du Plessis
"From where I was sitting I could see that there wasn't an engine where there's supposed to be one and I thought s**t."
That is how a passenger aboard a Nationwide Boeing 737 described her panic after the aircraft lost its starboard engine during take-off at Cape Town International Airport on Wednesday.
The accident was described as "super rare" by a local aviation analyst, who said South African aviation was among the safest in the world.
Despite Wednesday's drama, passengers were queueing up on Thursday morning to board the first Nationwide flight out of Cape Town.
Ground staff at the check-in counter said there had been no cancellations, although official comment was not forthcoming at the time of going to press.
Nationwide flight CEP723 had just lifted taken for Johannesburg with 106 passengers aboard on Wednesday when the engine came adrift and fell to earth, landing close to the runway.
It is the second accident at the airport in less than a week. On Friday, an SAA Airbus got stuck with its nosewheel in thick sand after it veered off the runway while turning to head for the apron shortly after landing.
On Wednesday, shocked passengers hailed the Nationwide pilot as a hero as they emerged shaken, but uninjured after their ordeal.
The aircraft took off at about 3.50pm on Wednesday and made an emergency landing about 40 minutes later, after the right-hand engine had dislodged minutes after take off.
Passengers praised pilot Trevor Arnold and co-pilot Daniel Perry for "one of the smoothest landings, even with one engine".
After realising that the craft had lost an engine, Arnold ascended and jettisoned fuel over False Bay before heading back to the airport for an emergency landing, said the passengers.
They said he had told them to "remain calm" as "everything is under control".
Airports Company South Africa spokesperson Deidre Hendricks said fire and rescue personnel were alerted at 4.10pm.
She said the runway was "closed for approximately 10 minutes due to debris from a departing aircraft".
"The runway remained closed for the aircraft's return, which took place at approximately 4.28pm," Hendricks said.
The runway was re-opened about half an hour later.
Elvine Driver, who was sitting in a restaurant overlooking the runway when the Cape Argus arrived on the scene, said he was watching as the plane was taking off.
"As it was taking off, something dropped to the ground and made some sparks but the plane still slowly ascended," Driver said.
The atmosphere at the airport on Wednesday was thick with tension as passengers who were waiting for other flights were seen pointing at the three pieces of engine debris lying on the grass on one side of the runway.
The Nationwide passengers were all ushered into a hall at the back of the airport, behind security gates where counselling was said to have been provided.
A Cape Town-based frequent flyer and businesswoman, who declined to be named, said Nationwide was making alternative travel arrangements for them and moving the passengers around in groups of 10.
"I was sitting two seats ahead of the wing, right where the engine broke off," she said.
Fellow passenger Rose Molokwane, of Brits in Gauteng, said the plane was about 30 metres in the sky when parts of engine fell off.
"We just heard a bang and then an eerie silence. After a few seconds we could hear it stuttering," Molokwane said.
"From where I was sitting I could see that there wasn't an engine where there's supposed to be one and I thought s**t," she said.
Nationwide marketing and sales manager Charmaine Thome said on Thursday that the airline had begun its own investigation early on Thursday morning, after technical experts were given access to the plane and wrecked engine by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Aviation analyst Linden Birns said on Thursday that any one of a "million" things could have caused the incident.
"In real terms, airline safety has improved if you consider that while domestic flights had increased more than three-fold over the past two years, incident and accident figures have remained basically the same," he pointed out.
When the Cape Argus visited the airport this morning, it appeared to be operating normally.
Nationwide passengers slowly checked in their baggage "hoping for the best".
Passengers queued up to board the first Nationwide flight departing from Cape Town airport, at 9.40am, for Nelspruit via Johannesburg.
Matthew Morgan, who is travelling to Nelspruit, said: "Accidents happen and hopefully something like this won't happen again for a long while. I am hoping for the best".
A woman travelling to Johannesburg, who gave her name as Gugu, said she had seen the accident on TV news.
"I am nervous, but I had already booked and have a meeting to get to this afternoon." - Additional reporting by Andisiwe Makinana and Jade Witten
This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Argus on November 08, 2007