A Fly540 pilot was forced to abort take-off at the Manda Airport in Lamu in Kenya after one of the plane’s tyre was stuck in a pothole on the runway.
No one was hurt but the 36 passengers aboard the Nairobi-bound plane were reported to be in a state of shock and fear.
They were asked to disembark from the plane after the incident which occurred on Sunday.
Daily Nation reported that engineers and other airport staff had to dig the plane’s left tyre out of the pothole using shovels and jembes.
An official was quoted as saying “The plane was about to take-off but it was a bit difficult. The pilot had to stop abruptly especially after realising that one of the plane’s tyres was stuck in a huge pothole on the runway.
Engineers and airport staff had to be called and assisted in pushing the plane out and parked it at a safer location on the runway from where it was finally able to take-off safely.”
An eyewitness was also quoted as saying that “The issue came just seconds as the plane started to lift its wings in readiness to fly. We saw the tyre on the left side stuck inside a huge hole on the runway.
We thank God that the pilot acted swiftly and switched off the engine of the plane. It was a scary moment.”
There are calls now on Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to work towards reconstructing the Manda Airport runway.
Source: Africafeeds.com
