An SAA flight homebound from Dar es Salaam on Monday night was forced to dump all its fuel and make an emergency landing soon after take-off because of a bird strike.
A Pretoria woman who was on the flight bound for Joburg on Tuesday morning described how the plane filled with panic when a large hadeda flew into the engine.
What was worse, she said, was that the engine seemed to cut out just as they were above the sea, sending people into a frenzy.
“People were in a state; even the flight attendants got the fright of their lives,” said 65-year-old Linda Wiechers. Her flight, SAA 189, took off from Dar es Salaam Airport in Tanzania at 6.45pm bound for OR Tambo International Airport.
A few minutes later the engine seemed to cut out and the plane started moving sideways, she said.
A hadeda, many of which she had seen at the airport earlier, had flown into the engine.
“I… could see sparks coming out of the engine. It was scary. The pilot battled to control the plane as it went sideways and people were hysterical… screaming.”
Wiechers was approached by the head steward.
“He said if anything happened to him and he was unconscious, I should open the door. Because people were scared that the plane might land in the sea, I told the steward that they should tell people that the plane was not going to land in the sea but that they were going to dump fuel there.”
During all of this, she said, the pilot did not say anything. But when he managed to control the plane, he turned back to the airport and started dumping fuel into the sea. They made an emergency landing back at the Dar es Salaam Airport, and touchdown went without a glitch, she said.
“I was very glad of the outcome and am very proud of SAA. If they did not know what to do, we would not have survived. I give them 10 out of 10; they did a good job.”
Asked how she was able to keep calm, Wiechers said: “In such a situation there is no use crying or crawling under the seats. You are in it and can’t get out of it.”
All the crew members were sent for counselling, and the passengers were put up for the night and flown safely home to Joburg early this morning.
SAA spokesmen were awaiting a report from engineers before issuing a full statement. They refused to divulge the plane type. - The Star