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| Flybe crash landing: Passenger plane in emergency at Belfast airport after nose gear breaks | Flybe crash landing: Passenger plane in emergency at Belfast airport after nose gear breaks |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Flybe passenger plane has been forced to make a crash landing after its nose gear broke after taking off at Belfast airport. | A Flybe passenger plane has been forced to make a crash landing after its nose gear broke after taking off at Belfast airport. |
| The flight to Inverness carrying 52 passengers and one infant set off shortly after 11am, but the pilot quickly noticed a problem with the nose gear. | |
| According to flight tracking website Airlive.net, the plane spent two hours circling 3,800ft above the Irish Sea to burn off fuel before making the emergency landing. | |
| Pictures show the aircraft with its nose unsupported on the landing strip. | |
| A Flybe spokesperson said: “Flybe can confirm that there has been an incident involving one of our Bombardier Q-400 aircraft, flight no BE331 which landed with no nose gear in place. | |
| "The aircraft departed from Belfast City at 11.07 local time bound for Inverness. The incident occurred at Belfast International Airport at approximately 1330 local time. | |
| "There are 52 passengers on board and four crew members. Our primary concern is for the welfare of the passengers and crew." | |
| They later added that one person on board was taken to hospital for a minor hand injury following the crash, but said there were no further reports of any other passengers or crew injuries. | |
| They said they were sending a specialist team to Belfast to "offer assistance" and they "will do all we can to understand the cause of this incident". | |
| Firefighters were on standby at Belfast International Airport for the crash landing and said "no action" was required. | |
| There were delays at the airport in the aftermath of the landing. An airport spokesperson said: "A Flybe flight from Belfast to Inverness declared an emergency and landed at Aldergrove at about 1.20pm today. | |
| "The airport is still open and full emergency procedures have been deployed." | |
| More follows… | More follows… |