Nationwide Airlines Flight 723

On 7 November 2007, Nationwide Airlines Flight 723, a Boeing 737-230A owned and operated by Nationwide Airlines, was performing a scheduled domestic flight from Cape Town International Airport to O. R. Tambo International Airport. During the rotation from runway 01, engine No.2 detached from the right wing. The pilots then proceeded to takeoff and declared an emergency, eventually making an emergency landing. All 112 occupants survived without injuries.

Accident

During the 737's rotation from runway 01, a bang was heard in the cabin and cockpit. The aft cone bolt on engine #2 sheared off, causing the aircraft to bank left, as the engine began giving upwards thrust, and very shortly after, engine #2 separated from the aircraft, causing a severe jolt to the right. The flight crew managed to regain control of the aircraft and set it on a climb to 3,000 feet. One orbit was performed around the airport, during which another flight was landing on runway 01. The pilots began troubleshooting the issue, noticing fuel and hydraulics leaking from the area where engine #2 had previously been. The landing South African Airways flight was alerted by the air traffic control (ATC) about possible debris on the runway, without telling them to go-around. During the chaos, the air traffic controller had pressed the crash alarm, alerting emergency services about the event, because at the time, he had observed the aircraft in a dive, however, it was not. Both the ATC and the landing flight opted to continue its approach and following the landing, the flight crew reported debris on the runway. Consequently, the ATC advised Flight 723 to continue its orbit while maintaining the same altitude. At the same time, emergency personnel were dispatched to the runway to clear the debris for Flight 723. At 16:10 local time, after 14 minutes and 19 seconds during the cleaning process, the runway was cleared. The 737 then successfully executed a safe landing on runway 01 without any brakes and cleared the runway by taxiing into the taxiway before shutting down the remaining engine. The passengers were told to remain seated to await a stairtruck. The evacuation of passengers was carried out smoothly, and there was no need to use the emergency escape slides. All individuals exited the aircraft safely, and no additional incidents were reported.

Cape Town International Airport was re-opened at 16:58 local time, and at 17:15 local time, the first aircraft departed following the accident.

Accident aircraft aftermath

ZS-OEZ, the aircraft involved, was written-off and scrapped.