The Lulutai Saab 340 aircraft slid off the taxiway at the Fua’amotu Domestic Airport with a full load of passengers, early Friday afternoon, hitting a low concrete wall, after it aborted landing at the Lupepau’u Airport in Vava’u.
No one was injured in what was less than a normal landing even though it is reported the passengers were traumatised.
The 34-seater aircraft, A3-PUA departed Fua’amotu Airport for Vava’u, but due to what was called a “technical problem with hydraulics”, the plane could not land, and it turned back to Tongatapu.
A passenger on the flight said that after they boarded the flight it was fine, and even when they reached Vava’u, the pilot announced that they were landing, and everything seemed normal.
“All of a sudden the plane changes direction and all we were seeing was the ocean,” the passenger said.
“The pilot then announced that we were returning to Fua’amotu Airport because there was a “technical issue”.
Some passengers reported a thumping noise when the plane landed at Fua’amotu. Amidst screams and children crying, some passengers rushed to the front when the plane landed.
The plane, which is damaged but still in one piece, came to rest on a low concrete structure in front of the Fua’amotu Domestic Terminal. Early reports indicate the right landing gear collapsed as the aircraft turned on the taxiway.
“Everyone was screaming and crying, kids were crying, chairs were broken. People were trying to stand up to run to the front. It was traumatic, now that I think of it,” one passenger recounted what happened.
She said a man was carried out by soldiers who responded to the emergency, but she was unsure if he was seriously injured, or simply shocked.
No awareness of what was happening
Meanwhile, many people working at the nearby Fua’amotu International Airport were not aware that there was an emergency.
Paul Karalus, the General Manager of the Airport Terminal Service (Tonga) Ltd., told reporters the accident happened around 2:00pm.
“We were inside our office and there was nothing to indicate to us that anything was happening. We only heard it later at around 2:20pm that there had been an emergency.
There was damage to the aircraft but nobody hurt.”
“I saw it where it was when it came to rest and that’s all I have seen of it, the aircraft is all in one piece, it’s on a lean because the right landing gear has collapsed, very likely the hydraulic, as suggested by some, ” he said.
He said that the Saab aircraft had been on its way to Vava’u. “Some time after passing Ha’apai they must have had some indication there was an issue with the hydraulics so they returned to Tonga. Very wisely, Sam, the captain elected to return when he discovered what ever the problem was.”
Paul said he believed that the landing was perfectly okay but then it turned off the main runway onto the taxiway.
“And then it turns on the taxiway again to face the Domestic Terminal and at some point there the landing gear collapsed so where it started to slide or slip, I don’t know, but it was off the taxiway,” he said.
Paul said the damaged aircraft is not causing any obstruction to the operation of the International airport.
“It’s off the runway and its no obstacle to any other traffic,” Paul said.
Lulutai Airlines released a statement on Friday 8 December, in Tongan, saying “the Saab 340 aircraft turned around and returned from Vava’u to Tongatapu because there was a technical problem. The Saab 340 landed at Fua’amotu around 2pm, but as the plane turned toward the terminal, it encountered a technical problem when the wing of the plane struck a cement block by the domestic terminal.”
Lulutai also announced they are continuing investigations as to what happened, and will be issuing a full statement when investigations are completed. Lulutai Airlines operate two planes, the Saab 340 which is 36 years old, with 34 seats. The other plane is a 12-seater Y12. However, a new aircraft has been added to the fleet, a 19-seater Twin Otter was purchased and is already in Tonga to begin operations.
