1Time Airlines‘ flight T6 648 left Cape Town last week Wednesday (6 June) at 17h45 en route to Durban’s King Shaka airport. Like many flights you hear about (usually unconfirmed second-hand stories, never addressed by the airline), there was an ‘issue’ on board which no-one ever talks about again and the airline certainly doesn’t clarify. This time is different, however, as a 2oceansvibe source has given a first hand account.

Our source has asked for her name to be kept confidential, so we will refer to her as Leslie.

Leslie tells us that the flight was going well until the final half hour, as the plane was preparing or in its final approach.

“There was the loudest bang I have heard in a very long time – from the back of the plane. It sounded like an explosion.”

“Sounded like an explosion…”

Leslie was quick to point out that t was not a normal noise one hears on a plane – “Everyone is used to the odd bang on an airplane – like when the hostess closes the overhead lockers. This was very different. This was so loud that the entire plane went silent. Everyone on the plane just looked at each other in absolute shock.”

That’s when the mood changed completely in the cabin. “The plane started to dive – with the engines making that same loud whiney noise they make on takeoff. There was a unanimous silent understanding between all the passengers that this was it. I definitely without a doubt sensed that I was about to die. People were holding hands and in a state of shock.”

Up until this point, there had not been a single word from the cabin crew.

“About 5 minutes later – after the noise that sounded like an explosion, and after the high-speed dive, someone made an announcement over the PA system.”

This next part is possibly the most concerning part of all.

“One of the cabin crew made an announcement, acknowledging that the passengers might be wondering what was going on and what the loud noise was. We were prepared for her to tell us to brace and prepare for an emergency landing. They said that they had gone to the back of the plane and also spoken to the captain – they said they tried to figure out what it was but everything seemed ok.”

But that wasn’t the end of it.

“The final 20 minutes or so between that point and the point of touchdown was an absolute nightmare. It was very uncomfortable and the plane was being thrown around the sky. The whole way down until landing I genuinely thought I was going to die.”

“Thought I was going to die…”

“We landed and everyone left the plane in silence. I have not heard back from 1Time airlines about what happened during that flight and nothing has been mentioned in the press. I am sure other people on that flight want to know what that incredibly loud bang was. More importantly, I think the public should be made aware of this and should be told what is going on.”

The big question is – WHY do these issues get covered up? WHY has the airline not contacted all the passegers to tell them what happened? WHY are these issues not flagged and made public?

Did they simply check it out on the ground, find nothing and keep flying? Or DID they find what the issue was? And if they did find out what the issue was, should they not make it public or at least tell the passengers what it was?

Were YOU on the flight that day? Do YOU have an account of what happened?

And perhaps 1Time Airlines would like to leave a comment*, clarifying what happened and what exactly was that loud bang? Telling the passengers that you’ve “checked it out and can’t find anything” is just not going to cut it.

* 1Time airlines did not respond to our requests for comment