As the saga surrounding the lack of spares by national carrier Kenya Airways and the flight disruptions being witnessed continues, one of its VIP passengers has come out to narrate a near death experience that him plus 150 other passengers faced recently.
Prof Kwesi Yankah- a former Ghanaian Minister of State has said that he has been keeping quiet about the experience for fear of breaking diplomatic protocols but has been forced to do so due to mounting complaints about the airline on social media.
Yankah had booked a flight to Ghana via Nairobi from Johannesburg, South Africa on November 30 using Kenya Airways. The plane operating on Flight KQ 783 was supposed to leave OR Tambo International Airport at 3pm and make a brief stop over at Livingstone in Zambia before heading to Nairobi.
The trip did not take place as the plane was forced to make two emergency landings back at the same airport due to mechanical failure.
On board were 150 passengers including renowned Ghanaian scholars De-Valera Botchway, UCC; Mary Ayim-Segbefia of Unimac, FTI; Reggie Duah, Yvonne Agbetsoamedo of Legon; Oduro-Frimpong of Ashesi U Kwesi Yankah. They were returning home from a conference in Cape Town.
“Ten minutes after takeoff in Cape Town, a jingling sound, then a prolonged bodily rattle, followed by a sudden drop in speed. I saw widening eyeballs among passengers. Momentarily it felt like the aircraft had frozen midair. Was the airborne plane at a standstill?” Narrated Yankah.
“Peeping through the moving clouds, the splendid sky view of Cape Town started losing its grace, as dark clouds began forming,” he said.
Then came the message none of the passengers wanted to hear.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, we have developed a systems fault caused by a faulty landing gear, and we have to return to Cape Town or the nearest available airport,” the pilot announced.
“Cabin crew please take note. We shall touch down in about 20 minutes after spilling aviation fuel in the ocean. Please stay calm, and sorry for the inconvenience,” he said.
A video which we have obtained from flight tracking software shows that the ordeal lasted about 50 minutes. The plane took off and immediately made a turn to the left into the Atlantic occean. I then circulated the ocean just above Robben Island eight times for a nerve wracking 40 minutes before beginning descent to Oliver Tambo Airport.
“A turbulent landing at Cape Town rattled the entire frame of the Boeing 737-800 plane throwing open some luggage compartments. The screechy sound and bumpy ground speed racked nerves and froze our countenance: we were in for a disaster,” recalled Yankah.
“Shaken to the core, we disembarked at the very gate we departed from, as we awaited further developments. Traumatized passengers thinned out gradually dispersing at the Gate for various reliefs,” he said.
The traumatized passengers were led to a waiting room hoping that they will be switched to a different plane. After three hours of waiting the message finally arrived. They were told that they the mechanical issue had been sorted and that they will use the same plane to Nairobi.
“Soon, distressed passengers walked haltingly to a waiting bus, which conveyed us like tethered sheep, to the same Kenyan slaughter house,” he recalled.
“Back on board, we fastened our seat belts and took off again at 9pm. But soon after, the familiar fatality symptoms started yet again as we attempted climbing to higher altitudes: same jingling, same rattling, same deceleration, same ominous signs,” he said.
“A confused but clearly reckless pilot then repeated the self-same stress refrain: a repeat U-turn, repeat fuel spillage and repeat emergency landing in Cape Town. It would take 10 minutes this time,” recalled the professor.
Just as they had landed three hours earlier, the professor was back in Cape Town after surviving two nerve wracking emergency landings in the same airport.
Last Friday, the airline announced on Friday that some of its aeroplanes may remain grounded for the period owing to challenges in acquiring aircraft spare parts. KQ Group Managing Director and CEO Allan Kilavuka in a statement explained that due to the global challenge, the airline would extend grounding time for flights as a safety precaution.
“Our current flight schedule may experience disruptions in the coming weeks mainly due to challenges in the aircraft spare parts global supply chain. These challenges are leading to extended ground time of our aircraft for maintenance,” Kilavuka said.
“Additionally, this may also lead to grounding one or more of our aircraft in line with our commitment to the highest level for safety and reliability of our operations.”
He added: “We anticipate that these circumstances may persist for approximately two weeks, and we want to thank you in advance for your understanding and patience during this time. Your safety and comfort are our top priorities, and we are dedicated to resolving these issues as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
The airline has however kept mum about the issues that Flight 783 faced in Johannesburg.
