By Katalina Siasau
Lulutai's Twin Otter was forced to land on the Fua’amotu domestic runway on Tuesday night, 11 March, after circling for over 40 minutes due to failed runway lights. The two pilots and one passenger onboard landed safely with the help of headlights from two firetrucks..
The plane was returning from Ha'apai and was scheduled to land at 9:30 pm at the Fua'amotu Domestic Airport. However, at 9:14 pm, it was noticed from the airport tower that the runway lights were not working. They proceeded to ask the pilot to circle while they tried to contact the electrician, who was in Popua at the time (about an hour away from the airport).
The Minister for Public Enterprises and Police, Hon. Piveni Piukala, told media at St.George Gov't Building in Nuku'alofa, today, that a brief report from the Tonga Airports Limited (TAL) stated that the electrician could not make it to the airport in time, as it would take about an hour to reach Fua'amotu.
The Minister said the electrician attempted to provide instructions over the phone to fix the problem, but failed in that attempt.
After over 40 minutes of circling, the pilots were forced to land on the runway with lights provided by two fire trucks.
"The pilots reported that the runway was visible and there were no problems with landing," Hon. Piukala said.
When asked if there was any support on ground for when the plane landed, the Minister indicated there was a lack of an immediate emergency response, suggesting, "the Police should have been asked to escort the electrician to the airport."
Piukala said the lights were fixed on Wednesday evening, 12 March.
The Civil Aviation Division (CAD) under the Ministry of Infrastructure is investigating this incident.
However, TAL reported that water got into the system, causing the lights to fail, Piukala said.
Warning
Meanwhile, Deputy PM Hon. Taniela Fusimalohi said that the Civil Aviation had "issued a warning to TAL and demanded a full report on what happened" on Tuesday night.
The Deputy PM said they have warned TAL to "carry out their maintenance duties diligently."
He stated his concerns on the state of aiport runways in Tonga.
Due to the limited aircraft for domestic flights, the Twin Otter flight schedule has extended into night flights.
