The engine cowling of a Boeing 747, belonging to the company Air Atlanta and going to Malta, detached during the night from Thursday to Friday. The piece landed on the roof of a house in Waremme.
Shortly before midnight, an engine cowl of a Boeing 747 belonging to the Air Atlanta Icelandic company traveling to Malta came off, according to the communication manager of Liège Airport, Christian Delcourt. He landed on the roof of a house on the Allée du Long Pré, in Waremme.
© Facebook Hervé Rigot
The occupants of the house heard a dull noise before noticing significant damage to the level of the garage and observing the presence of the part in the hedge in front of the house. “We were in our room and we heard the noise of a plane flying over the house at low altitude. Shortly following it passed, a very dull noise occurred. I thought it was due to the storm and nothing was visible from our window. It was not until the morning that we noticed the presence of the part and the damage”, explains Louis Demaret, owner of the premises.
The frame and the slates of the roof of the garage are affected. Louis Demaret quickly contacted the Hesbaye police zone, which got in touch with the fire brigade and Liège airport to remove the engine cover. The victims were also able to join the insurance companies in order to be compensated.
© Facebook Hervé Rigot
The plane in question is now stuck in Malta pending repair of the broken part. “The investigation will have to be carried out by the Public Service of Wallonia and the general direction of air transport, which depends on the federal government”, specifies Christian Delcourt, from Liège airport.
This 28-year-old plane has already experienced an incident on December 2, 2021
The Demain movement has repeatedly denounced the proliferation of incidents and emergency procedures for several large aircraft at Liège Airport. “We felt that beyond the environmental and social aspects, the question of safety also had to be taken into account as aircraft, some of them very old and obviously problematic, landed and took off from Liège every day”he explained in a press release.
“Last night, we experienced a new major incident. According to our cross-checks, this 28-year-old aircraft already experienced an incident on December 2, 2021. In addition, this company was also involved in several other incidents in Liège in 2021 and 2022, and Liège airport also experienced another two incidents last August”, affirms the movement.
© Facebook Hervé Rigot
For Pierre Eyben, co-spokesperson of the eco-socialist movement, “it is high time to ask the question of the condition and age of the planes which are authorized to come to Liège Airport. As we know, freight planes are often older. Since the airport will have to act on its noise pollution, banning these planes, old, noisy and dangerous, is today an emergency”.
The Demain movement demands that all the light be shed on the event of the night from Thursday to Friday and asks for concrete measures on the part of the regional authorities.
