BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of the Congo — A Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 carrying passengers from South Africa to Germany declared an inflight emergency on Thursday evening, forcing the crew to divert to Maya-Maya Airport in Brazzaville.
Flight LH573 departed Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport at 7:00 PM SAST, bound for Frankfurt. Approximately four hours into the long-haul flight, while cruising high over the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the flight crew issued an emergency declaration.
Flight tracking data showed the iconic widebody aircraft turning off its planned northbound track toward Western Africa to head for Maya-Maya Airport in neighboring Republic of the Congo, which offers suitable runway infrastructure to accommodate a fully loaded passenger jumbo jet.
The specific nature of the emergency is a possible electrical smoke inside the aircraft according to Flightradar24.
UPDATE
A Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 (registration D-ABYG) is on its way to pick up the 363 passengers stranded.
