Pilot saves passengers as jet crash-lands on nose
A PASSENGER jet carrying 57 people was forced to crash-land yesterday after its front landing gear failed.
It made the emergency landing after circling the Irish Sea for almost two hours to burn off fuel that could have exploded during the risky manoeuvre.
Four crew members and 53 passengers – including an infant – were on board when Flybe flight BE331 skidded to a halt on its nose at Belfast International Airport, where it was quickly surrounded by emergency crews.
Just one passenger needed hospital treatment for a hand injury. Incredibly, no one else was hurt.
Brian Strutton, of the pilots’ union Balpa, said landing without the nose gear was ‘very difficult’, adding: ‘The pilots appear to have done a sterling job.’
The drama began when the Bombardier Q-400 aircraft developed problems after taking off from Belfast City Airport at 11.05am. It was due to land in Inverness at 12.10pm, but was diverted soon after departure when the pilots realised the front wheel would not extend for landing. Anxious passengers had to wait as the plane circled before landing at 1.30pm, with other aircraft turned away.
Flybe and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch will investigate the incident. A Flybe spokesman said: ‘Our primary concern is the passengers and crew.’
A Flybe plane from Edinburgh was evacuated in February when its landing gear collapsed while landing in Amsterdam.