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Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
An air Zimbabwe plane was forced to turn back about halfway into a Harare-Bulawayo flight on Wednesday after developing an engine fault.
Flight UM331 was said to have been carrying about 60 passengers, some of them members of an Australian parliamentary delegation en route to Victoria Falls.
Passengers boarded the plane for the 45-minute flight at around 7:15am, but the pilot was forced to make a U-turn to Harare International Airport 20 minutes later.
Air Zimbabwe public relations executive Mrs Shingai Dhliwayo said such incidents were normal in the aviation industry and were not unique to a specific airline.
“There has not been a trend of such occurrences, but it is generally known that such incidents can happen,” she said. “It is not something extraordinary.”
Mrs Dhliwayo said Air Zimbabwe prided itself as one of the safest and most efficient airlines in the world.
She declined to give details of the incident, requesting written questions which she had not yet responded to by last night.
Sources said the plane made a U-turn after travelling for 20 minutes to allow engineers to attend to it.
It is understood that the pilot did not inform passengers of the technical fault, presumably to avoid causing panic, but eventually made the announcement upon landing.
The Australian parliamentary delegation led by Mr Warren Entsch comprised Members of Parliament and Senators had on the previous day paid courtesy calls on presiding officers of Parliament and its administration.
They also visited Bulawayo to have a look at Australian aid projects.
Sources said the Australian MPs caused a scene when they had to be persuaded to return to the plane after it had been attended to, causing another one-hour delay.
Online Reporter