AN AIR Zimbabwe Boeing 737 plane which sparked an emergency after an engine fire warning on Monday was involved in a similar false alarm only two years ago, it emerged last night.
The 737-200 aircraft, registration Z-WPC, has been grounded pending investigations.
The plane, flying from the Victoria Falls, landed safely at the Harare International Airport after a warning came through the cockpit indicating that one of the engines had caught fire.
But in revelations that will alarm air travelers, New Zimbabwe.com has learnt that the same plane was forced to turn back to Lubumbashi Airport in the DRC soon after take-off on January 25, 2009, when a fire warning signal came on.
As happened in Monday’s incident, investigators found no fault with the plane’s engines.
The plane is one of three Boeing 737-200 aircraft operated by Air Zimbabwe. The planes, all ordered in 1980 when Air Zimbabwe began operations, service domestic and regional routes.
Boeing 737s are short-to-medium range, single-aisle, narrow-body jet airliners with twin engines. By March this year, 6,348 had been delivered since 1967, with 2,061 orders yet to be fulfilled. It remains the best-selling jet airliner in history.
New Zimbabwe.com has also learnt that sometime in 2007, one of the 737s made an emergency landing in South Africa after a cockpit smoke warning. Once more, the plane was given an all-clear after investigations.
An Air Zimbabwe spokesman last night would not say if one plane was involved in all three incidents, but was keen to point out that the airline had an impeccable safety record.
David Mwenga, Air Zimbabwe’s manager for Europe, said: “Whenever incidents like the ones you report occur, we take all necessary safety precautions.
“Investigations are carried out as per manufacturer’s directions and only when the planes are certified to be fit to fly are they put back in normal service.
“In relation to the fire warnings, to be honest I would rather have that than nothing. We would rather these incidents don’t occur, but we should also be grateful that instruments seem to be functioning, allowing our pilots to take all safety measures – including shutting down troublesome engines – and landing without incident.”
Air Zimbabwe has had no fatal accident since 1980, but the airline’s bosses have been concerned by their ageing fleet which also includes two Boeing 767s. The airline also operates two Chinese Xian MA 60 turboprops acquired in 2008.
It was reported recently that Zimbabwe had ordered two Airbus A340 aircraft, which officials said would be delivered before the end of the year.
However, CEO Peter Chikumba has denied the order exists. Aviation experts took Chikumba’s comments to suggest that Air Zimbabwe may in fact be entering a wet lease agreement, likely with a company called HiFly, in which the latter would provide aircraft, complete crew, maintenance, and insurance with Air Zimbabwe billed by hours operated.