Cape Town – Comair’s British Airways plane heading from Johannesburg to Mauritius was reportedly forced to turn back mid-flight after it experienced a ‘technical problem’ 85 minutes after departure on Tuesday.
According to The Citizen, the Comair Boeing 737-800 flight had 152 passengers and 6 crew members on board when the technical problem occurred.
It is said that the aircraft’s tail might have contacted the runway surface on departure.
“We can confirm a tail scrape occurred on take-off when on this morning’s (19 April) British Airways (operated by Comair) flight from Johannesburg to Mauritius. After returning to base for a technical check, the passengers remained onboard and the aircraft continued its flight to Mauritius as normal,” the report quoted Comair spokesperson Stephen Forbes as saying.
ALSO READ: SACAA says ‘investigating incident of British Airways’ flight from Gqeberha to Cape Town’ – report
The incident occurred after another British Airways flight from Gqeberha to Cape Town Airport had trouble landing late last month.
According to eNCA, the flight landed safely on its second attempt.
The South African regulator suspended the airline recently after an investigation uncovered issues posing “an immediate risk to safety and security”.
Comair flights experienced a spate of issues a few months ago, according to the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), including engine trouble and landing gear malfunctions, AFP reported.
The carrier was asked to show it had complied with safety management regulations and was taking corrective action for the flights to resume.
After examining the evidence provided by Comair, the suspension was lifted with “immediate effect”, the SACAA said in a statement.
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Compiled by Sinothando Siyolo
Additional reporting by AFP
