A Fly540 plane was forced to abort it’s take off after one of the plane’s tyre was stuck in a pothole in Manda Airport in Lamu.
The 36 passengers on board experienced a moment of fear during the Sunday incident.
Luckily, no one was hurt as the passengers in the Nairobi-bound plane hurridly disembarked.
According to junior officials who spoke to the Nation, the airport’s engineers and other staff were eventually called and had to dig the plane’s left tyre out of the pothole using shovels and jembes.
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One of the officials narrated: “The plane was about to take-off but it was a bit difficult. The pilot had to stop abruptly especially after realizing that one of the plane’s tyres was stuck in a huge pothole on the runway.
“Engineers and airport staff had to be called and assisted in pushing the plane out and parked it at a safer location on the runway from where it was finally able to take-off safely,” he stated.
According to an eyewitness, Omar Mahmoud, all was well until the plane started to lift its wings for take-off.
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“The issue came just seconds as the plane started to lift its wings in readiness to fly. We saw the tyre on the left side stuck inside a huge hole on the runway.
“We thank God that the pilot acted swiftly and switched off the engine of the plane. It was a scary moment,” Mahmoud noted.
Consequently, following the incident, traveling agencies and passengers called on the Kenyan Airports Authority (KAA) to intervene and ensure that the Manda Airport runway is upgraded.