By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The national defence ministry has confirmed that the presidential jet, Inkwazi, is currently grounded after it collided into steel beams while being towed into a hangar at Cape Town International Airport.
Siphiwe Dlamini, defence spokesperson said, the plane left the Waterkloof Air Force Base on Monday and landed safely in Cape Town when the incident occurred.
“The people who tow those things, SAA Technical, damaged the tail of the plane,” said Dlamini.
“He also said that the president was not on the plane and that it is currently inoperative.
“The tail of the plane is damaged by this knock, so we need to take precaution,” said Dlamini, alluding to the fact that the jet is in for repairs.
The 15-seater Boeing 737 aircraft is used to transport the president and operated by 21 Squadron of the South African Air Force.
The Presidential Boeing was grounded in August 2022 due to non-payment of a Jeppesen subscription fee, meaning the aircraft was not allowed to fly internationally.
This apparent oversight saw a SAA (South African Airways) Airbus A340 chartered to fly Ramaphosa and his retinue to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting in August.