Kulula flight

Judging by what Gwebu says, BA and Kulula could resume flights as soon as Tuesday – Image: Twitter / Kulula

‘Catastrophic engine failure, debris, smoke’: Inside Kulula’s latest air scare

The SA Civil Aviation Authority have provided an update on a Kulula flight that recently had to make an emergency landing in Joburg.

Kulula flight

Judging by what Gwebu says, BA and Kulula could resume flights as soon as Tuesday – Image: Twitter / Kulula

Kulula flight MN451 is largely credited as the plane responsible for briefly grounding Comair’s fleet. And, according to the latest update, it’s easy to see why the aircrafts were quickly rooted to the tarmac.

The Kulula flight that sparked a grounding: What happened onboard MN451?

The aircraft ran into difficulties shortly after take-off. Early on in the journey, a technical issue was reported by the pilots. The plane then immediately changed course, and returned to Johannesburg.

One of the engines was affected significantly by the incident, but the flight crew remained calm. The plane had to circle OR TAMBO ‘two or three times’ before safely touching down, and one passenger onboard stated that the incident was ‘the scariest moment of his life’. Judging by this new report, we can see why…

‘Catastrophic engine failure’ blamed for Kulula air scare

The SA Civil Aviation Authority issued an update on the ongoing investigation on Wednesday. They revealed that ‘multiple instruments were malfunctioning’, and catastrophic engine failure forced the pilots to land with just one turbine fully functioning. That’s because a blade from the left engine was ‘ejected via the exhaust’.

Kulula
The suspension left hundreds of travellers stranded, after Kulula and British Airways flights were grounded – Image: Twitter / Kulula

This, in turn, damaged a stabiliser and a flap under the left wing. SACAA have also validated the account of several passengers, who spoke about hearing a ‘loud bang’ and seeing smoke as the incident occurred.

SACAA provides new details on MN451’s ‘dance with danger’

Just days after this emergency landing, Comair was given a week’s suspension from operating any flights, grounding its Kulala and British Airways fleets. An inspection cleared the planes to fly against last month, but these latest details will do very little to ease the jitters amongst South Africa’s aviation industry.

“After about 15 minutes during the climb phase, passing 21 000 feet, the flight crew heard a loud bang which was followed by an engine spooling down by itself, accompanied by multiple instrument indications malfunctioning, The crew followed the relevant memory items, and the Quick Reference Handbook (QRH) procedures were completed.

“The left engine was completely shut down. Pilots then decided to divert to O.R. Tambo Aerodrome and a Mayday was declared with Air Traffic Control. The aircraft landed uneventfully, with a single engine.”

The passengers disembarked safely with no injuries reported. The engine in question had a catastrophic engine failure which was not contained as some of the debris (turbine blade) was ejected via the exhaust, this caused damage to the left horizontal stabiliser leading edge and under the inboard flap of the left wing.”

SACAA, via Aviation Herald on Wednesday 20 April 2022