On a recent flight from Joburg to Cape Town, Mango Airlines had to make an emergency landing at O R Tambo International Airport. The plane was “forced into a nosedive” according to The South African.
There were no injuries reported and all 147 passengers disembarked from the plane smoothly. The reason for the emergency landing is a faulty part, according to a Sunday Times report.
The part had been fitted by SAA Technical, a subsidiary owned by SAA, who also owns Mango. In the report, SAA admits it has been infiltrated by an international crime syndicate and that the syndicate supplied the faulty aircraft part.
An investigation into the Mango Boeing 737 incident discovered the faulty part had no clear service history. Speaking to the Sunday Times, SAA said the problems at SAA Technical were being addressed and they had made progress in solving material supply issues.
According to My Broadband, Comair, which operates British Airways in South Africa, says it ended its relationship with SAA Technical. The reason being that SAA Technical has a “well-documented problems with maintenance scheduling and parts inventory”.
The seriousness of knowingly fitting airplanes with faulty parts by SAA and SAA Technical is scary, not to mention highly unethical and dangerous.
