SA team in mid-air drama

Olympic captain Matthew Booth was caught up in the mid-air drama

The South African football team have spoken about their horror flight to Liberia for Sunday's African Nations Cup qualifier.

A chartered jet carrying the players, coaches, technical staff and a South African Broadcasting Corporation crew ran into a severe thunderstorm as it prepared to touch down in Monrovia.

After three failed attempts to land, the pilot flew to Freetown in Sierra Leone.

Local newspaper reports suggest that by the time the plane had diverted to Freetown, several players were concerned for their safety.

I was thinking of the Zambian team that perished in a plane crash and feared that a generation of South African players was about to perish

  Goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez

So shaken were some footballers by the turbulence that they urged the delegation leader to arrange road transport to Monrovia, but this was deemed impracticable for security reasons.

"I was thinking of the Zambian team that perished in a plane crash and feared that a generation of South African players was about to perish," goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez told the Independent newspaper.

A Zambian air force jet taking the national squad to Senegal for a World Cup fixture crashed into the Atlantic Ocean soon after take-off from Libreville in Gabon eight years ago, killing all 29 passengers.

Striker feared death

Striker Nkosinathi Nhleko was the most traumatised member of the Bafana Bafana squad, telling team-mates he feared never seeing his newly-born baby again.

But the long journey from Johannesburg had a happy ending, with the jet touching down at Roberts International Airport several hours behind schedule to wild applause.

"I have done my job," the pilot told the players. "Make sure you do yours by defeating Liberia."

The game ended 1-1 but South Africa had already qualified for the finals in Mali.