Double trouble for SAA flights

Malfunction of a flap on flight from US and delay in Ghana after engine fails to restart

PASSENGERS on two separate SAA flights were left anxious and concerned after both flights had mechanical problems.

A flight from New York’s JFK Airport had to turn back an hour into its journey to South Africa because of a flap malfunction on one of the wings on Saturday night, while another bound for Washington was delayed for 24 hours in Accra, Ghana, on Friday after an engine failed to restart.

Several passengers on the flight from New York said it had been announced that about 100 000 tons of fuel, costing about R1 million, had had to be dumped while the plane was on its way back to the airport.

A passenger, who asked to remain anonymous, said there had been “a wing failure” and passengers had been told that it was too dangerous to fly over the Atlantic Ocean with the plane in that condition.

That announcement was made an hour into their flight and they had to be airborn for another hour while the fuel was being dumped.

“The pilot was amazing. He saved our lives. He and the crew kept everyone calm and they were so helpful,” the passenger said.

A second SAA flight scheduled to leave from Joburg for Washington, flying via Ghana, on Friday night also had technical difficulties after landing in Accra.

Adriaan Bester said his partner David Ralphs had been on the flight.

“The flight was delayed in Joburg on departure.

“And then he called me from Ghana (where they had been scheduled to stop over) to say they were delayed further.

“The explanation given was that an engine did not restart and a crew was sent in from South Africa to repair it,” Bester said.

He said passengers had been booked into a hotel in Accra for the day.

Ralphs was going to the US on a business trip.

“They only just landed in Washington a few minutes ago,” Bester said early yesterday afternoon.

SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali confirmed both incidents and apologised on behalf of the airline to all of the passengers for the inconvenience caused.

“We trust that they (the passengers) appreciate that safety was the main consideration. We await the report to shed light on a number of areas, including on whether or not the flap defect could have been detected before the flight commenced,” he said.

However, he denied that the fuel dumped during the New York flight was worth R1m.

“We do not have the exact details on the quantities and other relevant data at this stage. Typically, we use a little more than R500 000 worth of jet fuel to operate on that sector on a non-stop basis.

“Given what we know at this stage, it’s possible that approximately R200 000 worth of jet fuel could have been jettisoned to enable the flight to make a safe landing in accordance with the aircraft structure and weight restrictions for landing.

“Therefore, a claim that approximately R1 million worth of jet fuel was jettisoned after making an air turn is ignorant of the facts,” said Tlali.