A Boeing 737-200 of Nationwide Airlines of South Africa suffered the physical separation of an engine on take-off from Cape Town airport on November 7.

Several eyewitnesses saw the Pratt & Whitney JT8D engine fall from the aircraft onto the runway. The airport was briefly closed for debris to be cleared but then re-opened.

ATI, Flightglobal.com's sister premium publication, was not immediately able to reach the South African CAA, but a spokesman for the agency is quoted by the Cape Times as saying: "A 737 from Nationwide was taking off and the engine dislodged from the wing. It was able to come back and land safely at the airport."

At least four other 737-200s have lost engines due to failures of mounting bolts, but the incidents were in the late 1980s and an inspection programme was developed.

ACAS lists Nationwide as operating 11 737-200s, four of which it owns and the rest of which are leased. They are around 25 years old with as many as 48,000 cycles.