Plane carrying Serbian president to Vatican returns because of engine failure, visit cancelled

BELGRADE, Serbia – A government plane carrying Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic for an official visit to the Vatican returned to Belgrade Friday because of an engine failure, and the visit was cancelled.

Nikolic’s press office said that one engine on the government Falcon 50 plane suffered “technical problems” in flight.

Serbian media said one of the three engines failed while the jet was cruising toward Rome over the Adriatic sea. The plane suddenly lost altitude before an experienced pilot recovered it and landed safely, Belgrade’s B-92 TV said.

“We lived through a real drama in the air,” Nikolic’s adviser Ivan Mrkic said. “The plane started shaking violently. We were being tossed all over in the cabin. We are alive only thanks to the pilot.”

Nikolic’s spokeswoman said that from now on, the president will use only commercial flights because the 34-year-old Falcon 50 has a history of inflight problems.

Nikolic was to meet Pope Francis on Friday. No new date for the meeting was set.