Own Correspondent
File picture of the aged Air Zimbabwe flight UM462 Information just received indicates that Air Zimbabwe flight UM462 was Wednesday morning involved in a mid-air scare on its way from Bangkok, Thailand carrying a yet to be established number of repatriated Zimbabweans who were affected by the COVID-19.
According to the reports, the flight made a distress call and declared an emergency an hour and 26 minutes after flying from the Thailand capital.
The plane later safely landed back at the airport after making a roundabout turn.
The old aircraft was flying the Bangkok-Islamabad-Johannesburg route.
The airline is yet to make an official statement on the incident.
The plane is being used to carry stranded Zimbabweans dotted around the world back home in light of the COVID-19.
The same plane made a major scare last year when it experienced a malfunction in one of its engines that resulted in a tailpipe fire over OR Tambo airport in South Africa On departure to Harare.
The incident occurred just minutes after the Boeing 767-200ER aircraft took-off from the OR Tambo International Airport at Kempton Park. The aeroplane eventually landed safely at the Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe.
“The flight crew informed air traffic control that the technical malfunction related to a left engine surge, however after completing the emergency checklist, the flight crew subsequently reported the fault had cleared and they had normal operation and indicated their intention to continue with the flight to Harare. They did so successfully and the aircraft landed safely in Harare at approximately 20:30,” the South African Civil Aviation Authority reported after the scare.
Despite the successful landing of the plane, the AIID team had started engaging the airline as well as their counterparts at the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe in an effort to gather additional information.
Air Zimbabwe officials based at the R.G Mugabe International Airport in Harare later issued a brief statement relating to the incident.
“The malfunction did not threaten the continuation of the flight and the safety of crew and passengers on board and it landed safely in Harare at 20:35 hours. Our engineers have commenced the requisite investigations and a report will be issued in due course,” Air Zimbabwe said in a statement attributed to “management”.