German Tourists Repair Cabin Of Aircraft In Flight

The aircraft was rolling down the runway as it departed Antalya, Turkey, when a crashing sound reverberated inside the cabin.

"Suddenly a piece of the interior of the plane fell on our heads. Some of the holidaymakers started to scream," passenger, Gunnar Storch, 34, told the German newspaper Bild. "A female flight attendant immediately ran into the cockpit to ask for the takeoff to be aborted. But the pilot wasn't in the least bit interested. He just carried on. Behind the interior casing, we could see the exposed wiring. It wasn't a very reassuring sight."

Remarkably, the Airbus A321 (file photo of type, below) indeed continued to its destination -- Leipzig in eastern Germany. As the aircraft climbed to 33,000 feet, Storch and other passengers used tape from inside their luggage to temporarily hold the panel in place. The aircraft landed safely.

But when Storch tried to report the incident to airport authorities, he said, no one appeared interested. Onur Air was banned from flying in Dutch, German, Swiss and French airspace because of safety concerns, costing the airline about $10 million in lost revenue. The ban lasted a month.

The incident came as French and Belgian authorities issued their first-ever blacklist -- airlines banned because of safety concerns. The airline in question, Turkey-based Onur Air, wasn't on either list.

Neither was another Turkish carrier -- Fly Air. One of its planes -- an Airbus A300 -- was seized in Paris over the weekend because of security and safety concerns after authorities on the ground discovered a fuel leak and tire pressure problems.

Another Fly Air plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Budapest at the beginning of August because of technical problems. Fly Air continues to... fly.

FMI: www.icao.int