Holiday jet returns to UK for emergency landing with broken wing after ‘oil leak’
A THOMAS Cook plane with a broken wing and low oil was forced to abort a flight to Cuba in mid-air and return to the UK.
Pictures from the runway at Manchester Airport yesterday showed the tip of the left wing had a large piece missing, leaving a gaping hole.
The jet suffered a suspected oil leak during the flight to Holguin, Cuba, and had to turn back.
Thomas Cook said the low oil alert while flying over Ireland was not connected to the broken wing. It insisted the missing piece did not affect the plane’s ability to fly.
After landing back in Manchester, passengers were stuck on the aircraft for more than 90 minutes, before being
‘Patching it up with metal tape’
accommodated at a nearby hotel while the plane underwent maintenance.
Simon Rowlinson, who was on board, wrote on Twitter: ‘Thomas Cook were shambolic with their response.
‘Kept passengers on board for 90 minutes, now in hotel miles away with no real explanation of when they have to go back … Queue for food out the door, hotel filthy, holiday ruined, partner in tears.’
He claimed that the problem was caused by an oil leak in the port engine, and added: ‘Can Thomas Cook guarantee their flights are safe when they are patching up the wing with metal tape? Not sure I will make it to Cuba.’
Another passenger, Abigail Turley, said customers were ‘ignored’ and ‘treated like cattle’. She added: ‘Turfed off bro- ken plane and left on the pavement. Really terribly organised, left to wander without luggage and no clue what the plan is. What are we paying our hard earned cash for?’
Thomas Cook customers suffered a similar incident in April on a flight from Manchester to Las Vegas. A spokesman for the firm said: ‘Safety always comes first and the aircraft will undergo a full safety check … We are sorry to our customers for the delay and will get them back on the way as soon as possible.
‘The plane’s wing tip is currently being repaired. In the interim the aircraft is safe and legal to fly in this condition.’