1time plane forced to abort flight

A 1time flight from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg was forced to turn back due to a smoke-filled cabin, the Herald Online reported on Friday.

A passenger said the aircraft had just taken off at about 6pm on Thursday when smoke poured out of an air conditioner into the cabin.

“Everyone was struggling to breathe.

They told us they were aware of the problem and we should cover our mouths and noses,” said the passenger, who did not want to named.

“A few minutes later we were told the plane would return to Port Elizabeth. When we landed there were fire trucks on the runway.”

Passengers were then told to disembark as there was a problem with one of the engines.

The passenger told the Herald she was disappointed at the way the airline had handled the issue as passengers had not been kept informed of the problem.

She said the passengers were told the plane would take off again at about 10pm. She and others eventually became tired of waiting and decided to go home.

Local 1time manager Martyn Nell said there was a technical problem on which he was not qualified to comment.—Sapa