March 8, 2007 — After spotting a possible fuel leak in one engine of its deHavilland Twin Otter seaplane, Seaborne Airlines pilots took precautionary measures and shut down the engine Wednesday afternoon after landing in Charlotte Amalie harbor on a scheduled run from St. Croix to St. Thomas.
The plane was towed to its St. Thomas dock by a boat, which offered assistance, said Seaborne President and CEO Omer ErSelcuk Thursday.
No injuries were sustained by passengers and the aircraft has been taken off line for maintenance.
ErSelcuk said pilots noticed what they thought to be a fuel leak from one of the engines after landing in the water and took the precaution to turn off that engine. The Twin Otter operates with two engines and two pilots.
A passenger aboard that flight, who asked not to be identified, said "it was a very scary experience," adding "you should thank God for every day." The passenger said the airboat "spun around" in the water when the engine was shut down.
"We exercised caution, and the crew is to be commended for doing the right thing," ErSelcuk said. "The harbor was extremely rough due to the wind condition," he said. "The craft can be controlled with one engine," ErSelcuk continued, but "there were a lot of vessels in the harbor … the captain used his discretion to ask for assistance to be towed to the dock."
Passengers were asked to don life vests, according to safety procedures. "If one of the vessels [in the harbor] had bumped us we would have had to evacuate," ErSelcuk said. There were approximately 10 passengers on board that 3 p.m. flight.
Seaborne Airlines regularly operates four aircrafts on its Virgin Islands inter-island flights. This is the first time in three years — roughly 50,000 flights — that an engine had to be shut down, ErSelcuk said.
"We have an extremely reliable aircraft," ErSelcuk added.
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