A Singapore Airlines (SIA) cargo plane recently ran into some trouble in Kenya, causing it to abort its take-off.
Unfortunately, due to the technical issue, the entire airport had to be shut down.
Source: @DavisSango on Twitter
The standstill lasted for about eight hours.
In a series of Twitter posts on Monday (17 Apr), the Kenya Airports Authority informed the public of the effective closure of the international airport of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.
That was because Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has only one runway, which reportedly experienced an obstruction.
All incoming and outgoing flights were temporarily suspended as a result.
The closure was apparently due to “an aborted takeoff by [a] cargo plane that developed technical issues”.
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed that SIA flight SQ7343 from Nairobi to Amsterdam was due to take off at 12.39pm Singapore time on Monday (17 Apr).
However, instead of taking off, the plane stopped short on the runway.
Source: Flightradar24
At 9.07pm — some eight hours later — it turned around and taxied back to a gate.
Source: Flightradar24
At 7.02pm, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport Kipchumba Murkomen posted a statement on Twitter on the temporary runway closure.
He said the abortion of the take-off procedure was due to a technical problem.
Source: @kipmurkomen on Twitter
It resulted in 11 out of the Boeing 747-400 freighter’s 16 rear tyres being punctured.
Mr Murkomen said the process of removing the plane from the runway was arduous, involving the evacuation of 100 tonnes of cargo.
The damaged tyres also required replacement before the plane could be towed away.
As the plane is at the end of the runway, there were “limited take-off operations”.
Teams were working hard to remove the plane, he added.
A netizen who was ostensibly on the plane posted a photo of towing vehicles approaching.
Source: Davis Sango on Twitter
He later shared that passengers were preparing to disembark and head back to the holding bay to wait for further directions.
At 3.57pm, he posted a photo of vehicles surrounding the SIA plane on the runway.
At 9.43pm, Mr Murkomen finally confirmed the successful removal of the plane.
However, this was about an hour later than they expected, he admitted.
The Kenya Airports Authority later also released a statement saying that the airport had resumed operations.
In response to queries from The Straits Times (ST), an SIA spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience.
They said the plane experienced technical issues with one of its engines just as it was about to take off. Thankfully, the crew managed to stop it before it went into the air.
However, some of the plane’s tyres deflated as it came to a stop on the tarmac.
The crew have disembarked from the aircraft, and investigations are ongoing, SIA added.
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Featured image adapted from @DavisSango on Twitter and Twitter.
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