Journalists escape emergency landing
Monday, 14 June 2010
JOHANNESBURG, June 13 (AFP): A group of World Cup journalists, including 14 from the Al-Jazeera network, escaped unhurt after their aircraft made an emergency landing near Johannesburg Sunday, an airport spokesman said.
Sparks flew from the belly of the plane as it came down at Lanseria airport, northwest of Johannesburg, after experiencing problems with its under-carriage, said operations manager Mark Christoph.
"After take-off, it realised that one of its under-carriage wheels was malfunctioning," Christoph told the news agency.
"They spent about an hour in the air, circling the airport trying to resolve the problem, going through the normal procedures, and couldn't get it right. So they elected to land without wheels on to the runway."
The plane had been heading for the northern city of Polokwane where Algeria were playing Slovenia.
Sparks flew from the belly of the plane as it came down at Lanseria airport, northwest of Johannesburg, after experiencing problems with its under-carriage, said operations manager Mark Christoph.
"After take-off, it realised that one of its under-carriage wheels was malfunctioning," Christoph told the news agency.
"They spent about an hour in the air, circling the airport trying to resolve the problem, going through the normal procedures, and couldn't get it right. So they elected to land without wheels on to the runway."
The plane had been heading for the northern city of Polokwane where Algeria were playing Slovenia.