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Airport opens after runway crash | Airport opens after runway crash |
(40 minutes later) | |
Flights in and out of London City Airport have resumed after a passenger plane crash-landed on the runway. | Flights in and out of London City Airport have resumed after a passenger plane crash-landed on the runway. |
A British Airways (BA) flight from Amsterdam with 71 people on board lost its front wheels in a "hard landing" at London City Airport on Friday evening. | A British Airways (BA) flight from Amsterdam with 71 people on board lost its front wheels in a "hard landing" at London City Airport on Friday evening. |
The plane skidded to a halt on the runway and passengers were taken off using the emergency chutes. | The plane skidded to a halt on the runway and passengers were taken off using the emergency chutes. |
The plane is now in a parking bay waiting to be investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). | The plane is now in a parking bay waiting to be investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). |
All 67 passengers and four crew were safely evacuated. | All 67 passengers and four crew were safely evacuated. |
They were taken from the runway to a building in the airport's short-term stay car park where they stayed for several hours until they were escorted into waiting taxis shortly after midnight. | |
People were pretty calm at first but when the plane started to fill up with smoke ... they got pretty fractious Ray Hamblin, passenger | |
The airport was closed after the incident and 11 flights were diverted to neighbouring airports - eight to Stansted Airport, one to Heathrow, one to Luton and one to Southend airport in Essex. | |
A BA spokesman said on Friday night: "The nose wheel of a British Airways aircraft suffered a failure on landing at London City Airport. | |
"The BA 8456 from Amsterdam had 67 passengers and four crew on board. As a precaution the emergency slides were deployed and the passengers were evacuated down the slides on to the runway." | |
He said the nature of the failure of the wheel was not known but that it was the problem with the nose wheel on the BAE Systems-manufactured Avro RJ100 which prompted the pilot to decide to deploy the emergency slides. | |
An airport spokeswoman said normal operations had resumed but there would be some slight delays. | An airport spokeswoman said normal operations had resumed but there would be some slight delays. |
'Loud bang' | |
"We do need to get those aircraft back into London City but flights have been taking off and landing throughout the morning," she said. | "We do need to get those aircraft back into London City but flights have been taking off and landing throughout the morning," she said. |
"There shouldn't be too many cancellations, it's more a question of delays." | "There shouldn't be too many cancellations, it's more a question of delays." |
She advised passengers to check with their airline before travelling. | She advised passengers to check with their airline before travelling. |
One passenger, Ray Hamblin, described the panic as the plane filled with smoke: "People were pretty calm at first but when the plane started to fill up with smoke, people were not moving fast enough and they got pretty fractious." | |
He said one passenger suffered "cuts and scrapes" exiting the aircraft. | |
Another passenger, Justin Fletcher, described a "loud bang" as the plane landed, adding that "the stewards and stewardesses were quick to evacuate everyone off". | |
A London Ambulance Service confirmed that four people were treated for minor injuries. Two were taken to hospital. | |
There are about 65 flights scheduled from the airport on Saturday and the airport is scheduled to close as normal at 1300 GMT. | There are about 65 flights scheduled from the airport on Saturday and the airport is scheduled to close as normal at 1300 GMT. |
BA flights to Lyon, Nice and Zurich were all delayed, with those hoping to reach France facing a wait of at least three-and-a-half hours. | BA flights to Lyon, Nice and Zurich were all delayed, with those hoping to reach France facing a wait of at least three-and-a-half hours. |