Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - A plane full of World Cup journalists, including 14 from the Al-Jazeera network, escaped unhurt after their aircraft made an emergency landing near Johannesburg on Sunday, an airport spokesperson said.
Sparks flew from the belly of the plane as it came down at Lanseria airport, northwest of Johannesburg, after experiencing problems with its under-carriage, said operations manager Mike Christoph.
"After take-off, it realised that one of its under-carriage wheels was malfunctioning," Christoph told AFP.
"They spent about an hour in the air, circling the airport trying to resolve the problem, going through the normal procedures, and couldn't get it right. So they elected to land without wheels on to the runway."
The plane had been heading for Polokwane where Algeria were playing Slovenia.
The chartererd plane had 16 people onboard, including 14 working for the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television network, and two crew, added Christoph.
Passengers left the aircraft through emergency exits after it came safely to a stop.
CAA
The aircraft had been removed from the runaway and airport operations were back to normal, said Christoph.
South African Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Kabelo Ledwaba said investigators had visited the scene of the emergency landing.
"They've been there, they've collected the data, and now we'll continue with the investigation," he said.
US Vice President Joe Biden had flown out of the same airport just before midnight on Saturday after attending the England-USA match in northwestern Rustenburg.
Pulp Fiction moviestar John Travolta did manage to fly out of the airport after the crash landing, heading to the eastern city of Durban to watch Australia play World Cup 2006 hosts Germany.
