Pilots on board a TAAG Angola Airlines aircraft were forced to shut down one of the engines after a man ran towards their aircraft on the runway.
It is not clear exactly what day the incident occured, but OMAAT is reporting that it involved a TAAG Angola Airlines Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 operating a domestic flight from Soyo (SZA) to Luanda (LAD), about 50 minutes away. In a video taken by one of the pilots, a man is seen running down the runway towards their aircraft.
Even after being warned not to approach the airplane, the man continued, running towards the left propeller. The quick-thinking pilots proceeded to shut down the left engine, preventing a potential catastrophe.
The man then continued standing in front of the blades, before running away after he realized he was being chased by airport security. With very little information to work with, it’s unclear if he was ever caught.
We will never know why this man decided to approach the aircraft. Maybe it was his first time seeing a plane, or maybe he wanted to take a free ride to the next city? Maybe he had a death wish? Mental health issues?
Incidents like this, while not common, are not surprising either. Smaller airports like Soyo do not have adequate fencing and lack security manpower, resulting in situations like this being a possibility. It’s not odd to see cattle and other livestock sometimes making their way across the runway either.
[Featured Photo: De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited]
