Esi Maman |
Moshe Ponti (Itzik Blanitsky)
Drama at Ben Gurion Airport tonight (between Saturday and Sunday) when an El Al plane that was supposed to fly to Tokyo made an emergency landing after takeoff due to a malfunction in the racks. On the plane was the chairman of the Judo Association, Moshe Ponti, who was supposed to fly to the training camp of the Israeli national team in Japan.
After the malfunction and after the plane landed safely under an emergency situation at the airport, the passengers went back down to the terminal and changed planes. Ponti shared about the moments of anxiety on the flight.
phonetic He said: “On the plane, we didn’t realize that something like this was happening. The pilot made us feel safe and made us not excited about the fact that there are ambulances and fire brigade on the route. Then we realized that this malfunction could have led to other results. He made circles over the sea to unload the fuel and we returned.”
Ponti added: “This is not a small fault. It’s a shelf malfunction. The landing was smooth, but there were a lot of vibrations that I never felt so the exit was not weak either because the racks did not work. I have never been in such a situation in my life. People almost passed out when we got off the plane after realizing what happened. We were in uncertainty, but I take everything in stride. I’m not afraid to fly again.”
