No one was injured when a British Airways plane was left stranded on a runway at OR Tambo International Airport following a crash landing on Monday, operator Comair said.

“British Airways’ (operated by Comair) BA6234, a 10:35 departure from Port Elizabeth, with six crew and 94 passengers on board, was involved in an incident on landing at OR Tambo International Airport just after 12:00 today,” Comair said in a statement.

“We can confirm that all passengers and crew safely disembarked with no reported injuries. Passengers have been taken to the terminal building where staff are on hand.”

The company said it and the relevant authorities would conduct the necessary investigation into what happened.

It said more information would be released as it became available.

‘We could see sparks’

Speaking to Traveller24, passenger Warren Mann who was on board at the time of the accident, said the pilot made an announcement as the plane was coming into land, informing passengers that the “left landing gear had broken off”.

“This caused the plane to hit the runway at an angle. We could see sparks as the left wing and the engines were scraped across the runway,” Mann told Traveller24.

“The wing seemed completely broken off.

“We were met by fire and rescue [officials] who continued to spray the plane and we then disembarked via an emergency staircase,” Mann said.

Only a single runway is currently in operation at the airport, leading to delays of 30 minutes.

Airports Company SA spokesperson Colin Naidoo said he was still awaiting full details of the incident. -News24

Source: News 24 wire