Chartered DC-8 Suffers Engine Failure On Takeoff

British Prime Minister Tony Blair says it was "fate" that kept him from travelling home to England from South Africa Sunday night.

Well, it might have been that... but it was definitely an engine problem.

Blair was aboard Britain's chartered version of Air Force One when there was a loud bang from one of the DC-8's (file photo of type, above) four engines as it gathered speed for takeoff from Johannesburg International Airport. Sparks flew from the nacelle as the flight crew quickly and calmly shut the engine down and aborted the late-night take-off.

Blair says he was aware that something was wrong, but he didn't have time to worry about it before the aircraft slowed, taxied off the active and back to the terminal without incident.

"Fate obviously had decided otherwise," a philosophical Blair told reporters Monday, as maintenance workers looked at the aircraft's engine.

"This was due to technical problems on the aircraft. The aircraft is currently parked on the apron at the airport," Airport Company of SA spokesman Solomon Makgale told the Port Elizabeth Herald Monday.

The aircraft, owned by Jet Aviation of Zurich, Switzerland, stayed in Johannesburg so maintenance crews could look into the problem -- while Blair awaited a replacement aircraft to be flown in. The prime minister left South Africa Monday -- but he was unable to return to London in time for a crucial vote on national ID cards.

FMI: www.jetaviation.com