A crippled commuter plane caused takeoff and landing delays at Nassau International Airport on Friday evening, the Ministry of Transport and Aviation announced over the weekend.
The statement said a Western Air Metro4, Registration number C6REX, aircraft landed on disabled gear at the western end of the airport, preventing the use of the runway until it was moved with heavy equipment.
Passengers and crew were able to deplane normally and safely, it added.
The aircraft was reportedly carrying 19 passengers and two flight crew on its way to San Andros from Nassau when pilots discovered a hydraulic problem and decided to return to Nassau.
Flights poised for takeoff were delayed and flights scheduled to land were diverted while emergency crews were mobilized for the disabled aircraft’s landing, the Ministry said, noting that the incident occurred at 7pm.
The statement said the aircraft sustained only slight damage to its wingtip upon landing, but caused serious inconvenience by blocking the only functioning runway.
Minister of Transport Glenys Hanna Martin said, “While we were frustrated at the delays, we are thankful that there were no injuries.”
Deputy General Manager of the Airport Authority Joe Reckley noted, “Ordinarily we would simply switch runways in an incident like this, but the main runway is currently being rehabilitated and will not reopen until June 27, but delays were kept to a minimum and the airport is now functioning normally.”
The Flight Standards Inspectorate was on the scene immediately following the emergency crews and the safe transport of passengers to begin a preliminary investigation into the incident, the statement said.
Manager of the Inspectorate Pat Rolle said that, “Interviews have already been carried out with the flight crew and we will proceed to conduct a thorough inspection of all maintenance records of the aircraft”.
From: The Bahama Journal
