JEDDAH, 18 January 2008 — A Central African plane carrying 233 pilgrims and 15 crewmembers aborted take-off from King Abdul Aziz International Airport on Wednesday after a problem was reported in the front wheels of the aircraft.
“There were no injuries. The plane was to fly from KAIA to Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, at 7 p.m. local time on a scheduled international Haj flight No. CAE 1001,” according to a statement from the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday.
An investigation found that the front tires were damaged, causing the mechanical system to malfunction.
“As it was not possible to move the plane to the hangar, passengers were evacuated through the normal exits and moved to the Haj Terminal. The work was in progress to repair the wheels so that the runway will be cleared and reopened,” the statement said.
The plane, leased by the Central African Airline Company, was registered under the category of TL-ADW and was operating under the Jordanian Privilege Jet Airlines.
Last Saturday, a Boeing 747-300 of Thai Orient Tai Airlines chartered by Indonesian authorities to transport Haj pilgrims, which was on its way to the Indonesian city of Solo, made a safe emergency landing at KAIA soon after take-off after developing a technical fault.
The pilot informed the air control tower of the problem at 6.58 p.m., 11 minutes after take-off, and requested permission for emergency landing.
Subsequently, KAIA authorities declared a state of emergency at the airport. At 7.09 p.m. the plane with 405 passengers and 19 crewmembers landed safely. None of the passengers or crewmembers were injured.
