An SAA airbus and FlySafair aircraft are both out of service after the SAA plane veered off its path and hit a parked FlySafair aircraft at OR Tambo on 11 November.
The SAA airbus veered off track after it struck the tow bar that fell off a tow truck and hit the parked aircraft.
‘An SAA craft was involved in a ground incident whilst being towed from the airport ramp to the maintenance facility at OR Tambo International Airport,’ said SAA spokesperson Vimla Maistry. ‘The tow bar of a truck broke and caused the aircraft to veer off and hit a parked Safair aircraft.’
The SAA plane’s wing tip and Flysafair’s empennage (tail) section were damaged. The ZS-SZJ will not operate while the damage is assessed.
FlySafair’s aircraft will remain out of operation until the full extent of the damage is investigated by technical teams and insurers.
‘This is truly an unfortunate development as this takes out the seat capacity of two aircraft, an SAA A320 and a FlySafair B737, out of the market at a time when our passengers are experiencing higher ticket prices due to limited aircraft availability on our domestic market,’ SAA’s executive chairperson and CEO, John Lamola, said regarding the incident.
ALSO READ: Private jets spark controversy as 400 land in Egypt for COP27
