Harare CHRISPIN INAMBAO, Staff Reporter | Tuesday
MORE tales of horror have been told by passengers aboard an ill fated flight over Namibia last Thursday – on which the door of a 12-seater aircraft opened in mid-flight.
The event took place on Thursday night on an Namibian Air operated Ondangwa-Eros flight when the door of the Grand Caravan aircraft suddenly flew open, shocking passengers who screamed out of fear.
One of the worst-affected passengers was Jolene Nell, a local economic consultant, whose seat was closest to the open door.
The passenger who was seated next to her was well-known women’s activist Veronica de Klerk.
Nell, who described the incident as very scary, said: “I sat next to the door. What seems to be the lock of the door kept coming loose. I think we were 20 minutes away from Windhoek when that door flew open. It was a hell of a wind that came through. It was one heck of a shock to everyone.”
“I was very shocked, the door just opened. It is a big shock because it shouldn’t have happened,” she said.
“There was screaming but it was not uncontrollable. It was very, very dangerous. I am just grateful there was no damage done to anyone,” said the economist.
After the door flung open, passengers nearby grabbed Nell because they feared she was going to be sucked out of the plane.
“The response was just fantastic. She (De Klerk) just grabbed me and the gentleman behind me grabbed me and the two of them held me. They might have thought I might fly out and they held me tightly,” she said.
“There was no apology from the pilot for the inconvenience … every person in that plane deserves a public apology [from Air Namibia],” she said.
Describing the incident, De Klerk, the Manager at Women’s Action for Development (WAD), said: “I tell you the impact was so terrible, we were all in shock. It was like a mini-bomb. I was too shocked to scream – it was like a car accident impact. Actually you are too dazed and you don’t know what hit you.”
Added De Klerk: “People were very, very shaken. The lady in front of me was shivering all over. I suffered from delayed shock.”
“I know Air Namibia is going through a tough time but that does not mean they can’t look after people’s lives,” she said.
“Whoever is supposed to be examining the planes before they take off is not doing their job properly.”
She also complained that when she flew to Ondangwa from Windhoek on the same plane last Thursday she “flew without a safety belt” because it was faulty.
Several efforts to obtain comment from Shareen Thude, the Senior Manager at Air Namibia responsible for Commercial Services, proved futile as she failed to return several messages left with her office.
Air Namibia charters the aircraft that was involved from Comav, a privately-owned air charter company The incident is apparently being investigated by Namibia’s Civil Aviation Authority, who have been quoted as saying they would “instruct that the aircraft’s door be repaired or maintained strictly in accordance with the manufacturer’s maintenance manual”. – The Namibian