According to Eyewitness News, when Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe's plane landed in the Democratic Republic of Congo last week a tyre burst upon landing.

Once the plane came to a halt several armed soldiers arrived on the scene and surrounded the aircraft demanding to be allowed in while the deputy president was on board.

Eventually the aircrew allowed one unarmed soldier into the craft.

The plane landed on a disused, unlit airstrip a week ago after it was unable to land in the central African republic and was running low on fuel.

Separate sources have told Eyewitness News when the plane landed on the Gbadolite airstrip the pilots applied maximum braking force because they could not see where the runway ended causing one of its tyres to burst.

Industry insiders said the plane's condition and its flight plan were in line with international passenger standards but there remain questions about why it was routed to fly through Bangui and not through the better equipped Entebbe Airport.

The air force has failed to reply to Eyewitness News' questions.