For the second time in less than a week, a FlySafair jet destined for Cape Town was diverted to Gqeberha after a technical issue was picked up after take-off from King Phalo Airport in East London on Monday.
This is the same flight number — FA143 — that had to be diverted to Gqeberha last Wednesday due to “minor technical issues”.
On Monday, passengers found themselves in Gqeberha thanks to on-board flight indications that there might be a problem in a wing component.
Passenger Daniel Anderson said they were informed of the issue 20 minutes before landing in Gqeberha.
“We were having a marvellous time and then the lights came on, and we were told we needed to make a precautionary emergency landing due to a technical fault in the aircraft.
“The staff were very professional and calm, which was impressive. In movies people scream and shout in such situations but in real life people were dead silent. We didn’t get much more information and I believe staff aren’t required to give out information before the captain does.”
Anderson said they waited in Gqeberha for another aircraft and landed in Cape Town five hours after the scheduled arrival time of 5.15pm.
“We boarded another flight from Gqeberha five hours later. I gathered FlySafair didn’t want to take any chances. We then got additional information from the captain that the matter had something to do with the plane’s wings.
“I know it’s not only FlySafair that has had technical issues with its aircraft of late. Something needs to be done in terms of maintenance of these aircraft. These issues are picked up while the plane is in the air and that is dangerous.”
FlySafair spokesperson Kirby Gordon said: “Last week there was no issue with the aircraft itself. What happened was what we call an ‘indication error’. One of the sensors gave a reading and a decision to land was made, but seemingly there was no issue. However they wanted to be sure. That aircraft is operational now.
“Monday’s wasn’t an emergency landing but a diversion to Gqeberha as a means to ensure safety and not because there was a major problem. There was an indication there might be an issue with one of the components of the wings. A precautionary landing was done in Gqeberha so a closer look could be taken to see what the issue was.
“We don’t have standby aircraft stationed in Gqeberha so passengers had to wait for another flight coming from Johannesburg, which delayed the journey by five hours.
“We don’t have maintenance issues with our aircraft. We will divert any aircraft as needed for safety when there is an indication of an issue, no matter how small it is. If anything comes up we always take the safest route possible. We just want to be very careful.”
SA Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Marie Bray was not able to answer Dispatch questions by print deadline.
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