FlySafair and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) will be investigating a collision of an airstairs vehicle with a FlySafair Boeing 737-800, which caused a minor fuel leak on Monday.
Image: fl360aero / Instagram / Supplied
FlySafair and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) said they are investigating a collision of an airstairs vehicle with FlySafair flight FA112, operated by a Boeing 737-800 (registration ZS-FGF), which caused a minor fuel leak on Monday.
The ground vehicle used for boarding (passenger stairs) made contact with the aircraft while it was on the ground, and was parked at stand A9 at Cape Town International Airport.
FlySafair confirmed the ground handling incident occurred at approximately 11.15 on Monday morning, when the airstairs vehicle made contact with the aircraft’s right wing.
“The contact with the wing caused a minor fuel leak and, as a precautionary measure, airport fire and rescue services were activated. Firefighting foam was applied to the affected area as a standard safety precaution.
“No passengers were on board at the time of the incident, and no injuries were reported. A standby aircraft was arranged to operate the scheduled service to O.R. Tambo International Airport,” FlySafair said.
ACSA said that the incident was immediately addressed by airport response teams, and the area was secured in accordance with standard airside safety procedures.
“Emergency teams responded immediately, and the situation was safely managed. There were no injuries, and flights are continuing. The incident is being investigated,” ACSA said.
FlySafair added: “The incident is being investigated in accordance with standard aviation safety protocols. The aircraft has been taken out of service pending a full technical inspection.
“FlySafair is cooperating fully with the relevant authorities. The safety of our passengers and crew remains FlySafair’s highest priority.”
The incident follows several other issues at the airport, including power supply and water supply disruptions. For a few hours on Thursday, the airport was without power.
“Cape Town International Airport confirms that power supply has been restored following the earlier outage that required operations to run on generators. Airport systems and operations are being progressively stabilised, with teams continuing to monitor the situation,” ACSA said.
The airport also experienced a temporary water supply disruption due to ongoing municipal repair work outside the airport precinct.
Back in February, the ACSA announced that renovations and upgrades at CTIA would start in March, when the airport would start work on upgrading the domestic arrivals. Some of the other renovations that are expected over the coming years include a new runway, expanded domestic and international terminals, and an upgraded security system.
ACSA CEO Mpumi Mpofu said: “We really are expecting that passenger movement in the airport will be somewhat disrupted, but if we show you how we've done for instance the ablution facilities in the airports... we phase, and we schedule the works in a way that allows us to close off particular areas while we work on them.
“We also direct passengers to create an alternative route to decant, and create alternative spaces - either temporary shelters or temporary facilities.”
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za