Engine Falls off Nationwide 737 during Cape Town Takeoff

Initial reports of the incident in which the engine fell off the right wing of a Nationwide Airlines Boeing 737 as it took off from Cape Town on Nov. 7, 2007 didn't say whether the aircraft was a 737-200 or a 737-500, and the airline operates both models. However, Nationwide has 11 737-200s in its fleet and only two of the more recently manufactured 737-500s, so the chances are high that the aircraft involved was a 737-200. The aircraft landed safely and nobody onboard was injured in the incident, the airline said. Credit: Nationwide Airlines

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- A plane carrying more than 100 people made an emergency landing in South Africa after an engine fell off during takeoff in Cape Town on Wednesday, officials said. No injuries were reported.

The Boeing 737, belonging to domestic airline Nationwide and bound for Johannesburg, touched down safely after airport fire and rescue services hurriedly cleared the debris from the runway.

The right engine "separated from the wing. The aircraft continued to climb out," the airline said in a statement. "The aircraft returned and landed at Cape Town International Airport without further incident."

One of the passengers, Pretoria businesswoman Ronel Derman, told the South African Press Association that she had been in a seat directly over the wing and a passenger seated next to her was looking out of the window.

"I heard this huge bang, and he said, 'That's our engine that's just fallen off.' I couldn't believe it. He had to repeat it to me," she told SAPA.

"The plane started to shake a bit, but what was amazing was the staff and passengers: everybody was so calm. There was no hysteria, no nothing, it was amazing. The guy next to me seemed to know something about planes. He said, 'Don't worry: the plane will go with one engine.' So I thought, 'that's OK.'"

Derman said the plane flew around to dump fuel but made a smooth landing.

She said that when the plane had come to a stop surrounded by fire engines, the pilot walked into the cabin, and all the passengers cheered.

According to a statement on Nationwide Airlines' Web site, the 737 was operating the airline's flight CE 723 and took off from Cape Town at 3:50 p.m. local time following what appears to have been an on time departure from the gate, which was scheduled for 3:35 p.m., for the 2-hour flight to Johannesburg.

None of the the passengers were injured in the incident, according to the airline's statement. After the passengers disembarked from the damaged aircraft, they were all taken to a holding area, where Nationwide Airlines provided staff representatives and trauma counselors to assist them, the statement said. 

The Civil Aviation Authority's executive manager for air safety investigations, Gilbert Thwala, said investigators were on their way from Johannesburg to Cape Town to investigate the incident, according to SAPA.

Six other flights were diverted while the airport was shut down.

Last week, the airport was shut down for several hours when an SAA Airbus became stuck in sand on the edge of a runway after landing.

Aviation.com Senior Editor Chris Kjelgaard provided additional reporting for this article.

• People Moving: Behind the Scenes at Airports
• Microburst Could Have Caused Phuket Crash: Experts
• Image Gallery: Eye-Catching Airliner Color Schemes