Passengers have told of their ordeal in a smoke-filled cabin of an Air Vanuatu turboprop passenger plane that veered off a runway and hit two other aircraft as it landed on Saturday.
The ATR-72, registration YJ-AV71,k was flying from Tanna to Port Vila’s Bauerfield Airport with 39 passengers and four crew.
Accident website The Aviation Herald said the aircraft was about 20 minutes away from landing when passengers saw flames in the lower part of the right-hand engine and smoke entered the aircraft.
The crew responded by shutting the engine down and discharging the fire bottles.
“The smoke continued until landing on Port Vila's runway 29,’’ The Aviation Herald said.
“During the roll out the aircraft veered off the runway and collided with two other aircraft.”
There were no injuries but a Unity Airlines Britten Norman BN-2 Islander was written off and an Air Taxi Britten Norman BN-2 Islander received substantial damage which saw the vertical stabilizer separated, according to the Website.
Passengers Brooks McCutchen and Janis Steele told the Vanuatu Daily Post that the initial concern was the smoke pouring through the floorboards and billowing through the cabin.
The smoke was so thick that they could not see the front of the aircraft and they were forced to breathe through their clothing.
“We were genuinely concerned about asphyxiation,’’ McCutcheon said. “We thought we’d have to make a water landing and that we’d be unconscious before we even ditched.’’
McCutchen told the Daily Post he detected the smell he associated with burning electrical insulation as he entered the plane and this was identical to the smell of the “blue-black” smoke coming through the floorboards.
The couple initially expected the pilots to ditch the plane and praised their efforts in getting it back to the airport, saying they the scare would not prevent them from flying with Air Vanuatu again.
They said the plane landed squarely on the tarmac but veered to the left, producing "a terrible crashing and banging" as it hit the parked aircraft.
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Air Vanuatu said in a statement that management was continuing to work closely with authorities to investigate the incident.
The airline said international investigators arrived in Vanuatu Sunday to work with the Civil Aviation Authority of Vanuatu
It said all passengers and crew were reviewed by medical personnel after the incident and “comforted by Air Vanuatu staff, including CEO Derek Nice”.
“We are very grateful to our fantastic crew of two pilots and two flight attendants whose actions ensured no injuries to passengers,’’ Nice said in the statement. “Whilst the experience was no doubt distressing for our passengers, we were pleased to receive their praise for the actions of our crew.”
Air Vanuatu flights are continuing to operate according to schedule.
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