A British Airways plane hit a building at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday. The plane's wing clipped the structure as it was taxiing before take-off, leaving four people inured.
The Boeing 747-400 was carrying 202 people for a flight to London Heathrow Airport when it took a runway that was too narrow for the aircraft, South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokeswoman Phindiwe Gwebu told AFP. "This resulted in the aircraft's right-hand wing impacting the office building," she said. The control tower "told them to take one taxiway and they took another one. They took a wrong one," Gwebu added.
Four people inside the building were injured in the incident but the 185 passengers and 17 crew members were not harmed during the accident on Sunday night.
"Four ground-handling employees who were in the building at the time experienced minor injuries," Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) said according to AFP.
The aircraft's wing hit so hard that it was wedged into a quarter of the length of the building, photos indicate.
Harriet Tolputt, head of media for international humanitarian organisation Oxfam, posted some photos to Twitter, saying "BA plane crashes into building at J Burg airport. No one injured only the pilot's pride." Tolputt says those in first class were evacuated before the remaining passengers.
The plane was eventually removed from the building and was taken to another part of the airport. The passengers on the flight were put up in a nearby hotel.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
