MpachaOf course specualtion is inappropriate at this time, and we should be more concerned with family members and friends affected by this tragedy.
But to say ‘yet another puma down’ is a little unfair, i think. Look at how many other coalition helos are lost in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hardly, we are talking about a small comunity within the RAF and for them to lose another is a very cruel blow. I’m not talking about war loses, I’m talking about total loses this year.
MpachaNationwide press release;
Flight CE723 departed from Cape Town on schedule at 1550. At take-off it was reported that the right hand engine separated from the wing. The aircraft continued to climb out. The aircraft returned and landed at Cape Town International Airport without further incident. No passengers or crew were injured. Passengers were disembarked and taken to a holding area where Nationwide Airlines representatives as well as trauma counselors were on hand to lend assistance.
When further information becomes available another press release will be made available.
All other Nationwide Airlines flights continue to operate as normal.
MpachaAn account given by IAN PRETORIUS on the SA Transport forum.
This afternoon at about 15:50 whilst sitting at my computer involved in the railway preservation internet war I heard a jet engine roaring. The cloud base was at approx 2000 ft over Table View with light drizzle. I thought to myself why is Mike Beechy Head flying practice runs for the Overberg Airshow in this weather (the initial sound was something like one of his aircraft).
I ran to my trusted ATC scanner and switched on and the first thing I heard was the tower talking to Charlie Victor the ground crew. He said get that rubble off the runway immediately. We have an emergency. The aircraft has to return. He then spoke to Nationwide who said to him we have an emergency. We have lost hydraulics and partial disintegration of our right engine. The traffic controller said it is not part disintegration. The whole engine is lying on the runway. At this time he was vectored to fly to Romeo India Victor (Robben Island) and he maintained 3000 ft on one engine. The air traffic controller when asked by the pilot what they had seen said that on take off he first saw black smoke which turned into grey smoke and then the motor exploded and disintegrated and parted from the aircraft.
This happened just short of the cross runway 16/34 which is about 70% of total runway length. There was no way that the pilot could have stopped the aircraft before the end of the runway but they obviously had enough speed at that stage for the take off.
The aircrew were very calm and were obviously going through all their emergency procedures. The air traffic controllers on tower were frantically hurrying on Charlie Victor to clear the large parts off the runway so that the aircraft could return. All other aircraft on approach to Cape Town were immediately placed into emergency hold and there was a lot of banter going on as to how much fuel each of them had and what their reserves were. In the end five aircraft were diverted to George and three to Port Elizabeth.
At about 16:10 Charlie Victor indicated that the runway was clear for an emergency landing and the Nationwide flight was brought in from around Cape Point to runway 01 on a gradual descent on ILS as the cloud base was very low. They made a perfect approach and a very good landing without brakes. Fortunately the gear could not be lifted on take off so hydraulics were not required to get them down.
After the plane came to a standstill there was a lot of congratulations from other pilots who were in their aircraft on the apron awaiting take off. The Nationwide aircraft was parked on the cross runway 34 out of the way of the main runway 01/19. Passengers were disembarked in the normal fashion as the steps were driven out to that area and so were the buses. The runway was reopened at 16:58 after poor old Charlie Victor had to remove all small particles that had fallen on the runway in case they got sucked into jet engines and there had been hydraulic and fuel spill on the runway.
After the Airbus A340 incident last week and this situation today it becomes all the more clear that Cape Town needs a second ILS main runway. If that had been the case no flights would have been diverted in either incident. Billions are being spent on the passenger boarding side but nothing on operating.
As for the reason for the Nationwide separation incident there are many possibilities.
Debris could have been sucked into the fans causing fan separation, imbalance and ultimate explosion.
This debris could have been either sucked off the runway or could even have been a large bird.
The fan could have broken and caused an imbalance resulting in the explosion.
The bearings could have seized on the fan.It does not necessarily mean bad maintenance although that is a possibility. The controlling body of air safety sent a team from Johannesburg to Cape Town today and they arrived at about 19:30 to fully investigate this incident.
From what I heard on the radio everybody acted in an extremely efficient manner. The aircrew, the air traffic control, the emergency services and the ground handling crews really showed that this type of emergency is handled incredibly well when it happens. Good for them.
Regards,
IAN PRETORIUS
MpachaWould you care to expand upon what you know about SAA’s “politics” ? Are you suggesting they shouldn’t have bought the A346 and perhaps ordered new 747’s ?
There certainly have been some complaints by A346 operators regarding performance, but I haven’t heard any complaints regarding mechanical integrity.
I’m all ears…
I’m suggesting that they were too hasty in phasing out the B747-400, it is not only the aircraft but everything that goes with it. These aircraft are not being replaced with new aircraft and SAA could have got a lot more mileage out of the fleet. SAA lately has a habit of pouring money into various fleets and then at a drop of a hat, changing direction.
The early A340’s got off to a bad start with SAA due to poor performance and the lack of PAX comfort. That said the A346 is performing better and I believe maintaining a mixed fleet would have been a healthier option until the A346 had established itself within SAA.
MpachaIs there any more information? Was there a fault with the aircraft, or crew error?
Judging by the picture, the NWS was functioning and it would appear on first impressions to be crew error – not foregoing brake failure of course 🙂
These things are obviously best left to the investigation but it would appear from first reports to be a combination of crew error and numerous problems with the airport such as closed taxiways and poor markings on the taxiway etc.
MpachaI’m certain that the odd 747 has left a runway or two at zero feet in the past 36 years ?
No doubt but that is not my point, you need to understand SAA politic’s and I’m only refering to the situation within SAA. I’m not going to enter into a pissing contest over which aircraft is better, but I feel that SAA has made a gross error in withdrawing the B747 from service. Role on 2010 😮
MpachaSome more pic,s;
MpachaWhy are you so enamored with SAA’s 747’s
36 years of reliable service comes to mind, phased out with a good few more years in them.
MpachaAt least some good came of this, SAA had to hastly put a B747 back into service for the run to Perth;)
MpachaBest report that I’ve seen so far;
What happened to the plane at CT airport?
November 03 2007 at 09:25AM
By Helen Bamford and Bronwynne Esbach
An Airbus flight SA 333 from Johannesburg overshot the main runway at Cape Town International Airport on landing on Friday, causing delays at airports around the country.
The airport was closed to all inbound and outgoing traffic for about two-and-a-half hours following the incident at 2.40pm.
Some passengers blamed the pilot who, they claimed, had misjudged a right turn.
Others speculated that the plane’s front wheel had burst or malfunctioned, causing it to veer off the runway.
Springbok rugby player Bobby Skinstad and property tycoon Pam Golding were both aboard the flight.
No injuries were reported but the Airbus blocked the airport’s only two runways, causing a knock-on effect of delays around the country and further afield.
Among those affected were 1 380 Irish builders flying to Cape Town with the Niall Mellon Township Trust for a week-long house-building blitz in Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain. They were due to arrive on Friday night.
Tony Greenwood, the general manager of Nashua, said the Airbus had landed and been taxiing down the runway when the pilot had tried to make a right turn.
“She misjudged it and drove straight off the end of the runway. The front wheel sank at least a metre into the sand. The engines were about a foot off the sand.”
He joked that it was the first time he’d been flown by a woman pilot. “And she lands up running the plane off the tarmac.”
Greenwood said passengers had watched the entire scenario unfold from a camera on the front of the plane.
“There was one very frightened young lady but the rest of us were having a giggle.”
Golding said the pilot had been extremely professional.
“She told everyone to keep calm and not move and that we would all be evacuated.”
She said passengers only realised something was wrong when they felt a “slight bump”.
“It was only frightening when I saw the fire engines coming towards us but I’m absolutely fine and it is good to be home.”
The passengers were able to disembark normally via stairs.
Speaking from OR Tambo Saturday Star news editor Ray Joseph, who was waiting for a flight to Cape Town, described the situation as “total chaos”.
“They’re running out of food. They’re running out of water. People are just lying around everywhere.
“No one is saying anything. They just keep announcing that flights are being delayed because of technical problems,” Joseph said.
A chaotic scene was also unfolding at the terminals in Cape Town International airport, where hundreds of passengers were making cellphone calls, or sitting hopelessly on their luggage.
Others struck up conversations with fellow passengers in an attempt to lessen the boredom.
Airport officials tried to keep people updated on developments over the public address system and through loudhailers.
Springbok rugby players Schalk Burger and Jean de Villiers, who were supposed to be on their way to Durban, passed the time restaurant-hopping.
Mxolisi Sokatsha of Kimberley said the delay was costing him time and money. “I have to go to Kimberley, because I must leave for a business meeting in Upington tomorrow. I’m quite nervous when I think of how long we could be spending here.”
SAA spokesperson Robyn Chalmers said the 300 passengers on board suffered no injuries and disembarked safely.
She said the flight SA333, operated by an Airbus A340-600, from Johannesburg had landed safely at Cape Town airport at approximately 2.41pm.
“However, an attempt to turn the aircraft sharply to the right as directed by air traffic control authorities led to its front wheel slipping off the side of the cross runway. The aircraft’s nose, or front wheel, was buried in the soft sand off the runway and technicians worked swiftly to dig it out and pulled the aircraft backwards.”
Chalmers said aircraft had been taxiing at a very low speed on the runway after landing when the incident occurred.
The aircraft had been taken to the airline’s technical hangars for damage assessment.
Mpacha
MpachaThat will teach them for withdrawing the B747 from service :diablo:
MpachaCould someone explain just how the pilots are supposed to look at the wing tips and check for clearances. Surely you would need someone standing nearby for that sort of excercise (and don’t call me Shirley 🙂 )
Heathrow have identified this area as a potential hazard (via the ATIS). Should ATC then be routing 2 very large aircraft around each other here ?
And finally Esther, what has changed in this area to make it a hazard worthy of notification ?
Matt
You are quite correct Matt, unless one knows what instructions were passed you can not rule out ATC error and in most cases there is a chain of events. Sadly this happens a little too often with A340’s and one hopes people will learn from this event!
The actual distance from the cockpit to the tip of the winglet on an A340 is 50m, add to this the optical diffraction caused by the side window when looking rearwards and especially at night. The A340 is a pig to manoeuvre around obstacles due to it being almost impossible to judge the exact position of the wing tip. It is human nature to steer clear of an obstacle but with the
A340 and it’s outward sloping winglet and swept wing you end up with wing “growth” when turning away. Thus the A340 has caught many a pilot with wing creep!
Another factor to consider would be if the B747 was holding in the correct position.
It is more than likely a combination of events that led to this unfortunate event.
MpachaNot only is this slanging match becoming boring but it is extremely childish, if you have nothing constructive to say, then don’t say it!
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Mpacha
Cool it guys!
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