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| Birmingham airport latest: Delays continue after emergency landing closure | Birmingham airport latest: Delays continue after emergency landing closure |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Birmingham Airport's runway was closed after a plane made an emergency landing | Birmingham Airport's runway was closed after a plane made an emergency landing |
| Passengers continue to face hours of delays following the closure of Birmingham Airport's runway, after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing. | Passengers continue to face hours of delays following the closure of Birmingham Airport's runway, after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing. |
| The runway was shut on Wednesday afternoon when the small aircraft returned to the airport after it's landing gear failed on a flight to Belfast. | The runway was shut on Wednesday afternoon when the small aircraft returned to the airport after it's landing gear failed on a flight to Belfast. |
| It remained closed for more than six hours while staff worked to remove the plane, with thousands of airline passengers stranded or diverted. | It remained closed for more than six hours while staff worked to remove the plane, with thousands of airline passengers stranded or diverted. |
| The runway reopened after 19:30 BST, when the plane was moved. The first flight departed shortly after, having originally been scheduled to leave at 14:10. | The runway reopened after 19:30 BST, when the plane was moved. The first flight departed shortly after, having originally been scheduled to leave at 14:10. |
| Is Birmingham Airport open and are there delays? | Is Birmingham Airport open and are there delays? |
| In a notice on its website, Birmingham Airport said it was now "operating to its normal schedule" but warned that passengers might face some residual delays. | In a notice on its website, Birmingham Airport said it was now "operating to its normal schedule" but warned that passengers might face some residual delays. |
| The online departures list on Thursday morning showed several flights leaving later than scheduled. | The online departures list on Thursday morning showed several flights leaving later than scheduled. |
| The 05:55 BST Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, for example, departed at 09:57, while the 06:30 TUI service to Kefalonia was estimated to take off at about 12:30. | The 05:55 BST Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, for example, departed at 09:57, while the 06:30 TUI service to Kefalonia was estimated to take off at about 12:30. |
| Other flights have experienced shorter delays, ranging from about 35 minutes to a couple of hours. | Other flights have experienced shorter delays, ranging from about 35 minutes to a couple of hours. |
| What happened and was anyone injured? | What happened and was anyone injured? |
| According to aircraft charter and management company, Woodgate Aviation, one of its Beechcraft fixed-wing planes developed landing gear problems on its journey to Belfast after taking off from Birmingham at 13:11. | According to aircraft charter and management company, Woodgate Aviation, one of its Beechcraft fixed-wing planes developed landing gear problems on its journey to Belfast after taking off from Birmingham at 13:11. |
| The aircraft returned to Birmingham, landing at 13:58. | The aircraft returned to Birmingham, landing at 13:58. |
| "The aircraft returned to Birmingham and made an emergency landing and the main undercarriage collapsed on touch down," the company said. | "The aircraft returned to Birmingham and made an emergency landing and the main undercarriage collapsed on touch down," the company said. |
| It confirmed two crew members and one passenger were on board but were not injured. | It confirmed two crew members and one passenger were on board but were not injured. |
| West Midlands Police, West Midlands Fire Service and Birmingham Airport Police were among the agencies at the scene. | West Midlands Police, West Midlands Fire Service and Birmingham Airport Police were among the agencies at the scene. |
| Footage shows plane landing in Birmingham Airport | Footage shows plane landing in Birmingham Airport |
| Birmingham Airport said its teams worked as quickly as possible to move the aircraft in line with "strict protocols". | Birmingham Airport said its teams worked as quickly as possible to move the aircraft in line with "strict protocols". |
| A spokesperson said the protocols had to be followed to "ensure a safe reopening of the runway following a prolonged closure". | A spokesperson said the protocols had to be followed to "ensure a safe reopening of the runway following a prolonged closure". |
| Woodgate said it would co-operate fully with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which confirmed it was looking into the incident. | Woodgate said it would co-operate fully with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which confirmed it was looking into the incident. |
| An AAIB statement said a multi-disciplinary team of inspectors was deployed to the site. | An AAIB statement said a multi-disciplinary team of inspectors was deployed to the site. |
| How were people affected and is there compensation? | |
| With the closure lasting for more than six hours, many passengers suffered significant delays or saw their flights diverted to other airports. | With the closure lasting for more than six hours, many passengers suffered significant delays or saw their flights diverted to other airports. |
| At least 10 flights due to depart from the airport were cancelled, while others were delayed by more than five hours. | At least 10 flights due to depart from the airport were cancelled, while others were delayed by more than five hours. |
| Twenty which were due to land at Birmingham were diverted to other airports. | Twenty which were due to land at Birmingham were diverted to other airports. |
| Some passengers told the BBC that their flights were cancelled "moments before boarding" on Wednesday afternoon. | Some passengers told the BBC that their flights were cancelled "moments before boarding" on Wednesday afternoon. |
| Birmingham Airport said it understood the frustration and apologised for the disruption. | Birmingham Airport said it understood the frustration and apologised for the disruption. |
| Faye and her family's holiday was cancelled altogether | Faye and her family's holiday was cancelled altogether |
| Faye, who was travelling with her partner and four children, said they found out about the incident on Facebook. | Faye, who was travelling with her partner and four children, said they found out about the incident on Facebook. |
| They had been due to fly to Antalya in Turkey with Jet2 at 14:55. While waiting at the airport, the family was given £10 per person by the airline for food and drinks. | They had been due to fly to Antalya in Turkey with Jet2 at 14:55. While waiting at the airport, the family was given £10 per person by the airline for food and drinks. |
| She subsequently received a text message saying the holiday had been cancelled and there would be a full refund in four to five days. | She subsequently received a text message saying the holiday had been cancelled and there would be a full refund in four to five days. |
| She and her family were waiting to collect their baggage, along with about 400 other people, her children "sobbing and crying". | She and her family were waiting to collect their baggage, along with about 400 other people, her children "sobbing and crying". |
| "We are stuck here waiting for our baggage and it's boiling hot... and now our kids aren't going to have a holiday," she said at the time. | "We are stuck here waiting for our baggage and it's boiling hot... and now our kids aren't going to have a holiday," she said at the time. |
| Advice for passengers is to contact their airline or point of sale regarding compensation as their contract is with their respective airline. | |
| What is the insider view of events? | |
| Former airline captain Emma Henderson said the aircraft in trouble used the emergency "squawk code" – a code that alerts air traffic control to an emergency situation. | |
| "I've seen the footage like everybody else has," she said, "of it coming into land and the right main gear collapses as it comes to a standstill." | |
| The squawk code lets air traffic control staff know they need to move other aircraft away in case the plane facing an emergency suddenly needs to descend, she explained. | |
| Pilots are trained intensively on how to manage such situations and refresh their training in a simulator twice a year, she added. | |
| Dealing with the incident had a "massive impact", former captain Emma Henderson explained | |
| A quick decision would have been made on the plane on Wednesday whether to return to Birmingham, divert elsewhere, or continue on to Belfast. | |
| Ms Henderson said investigations had to take place before the aircraft could be moved from the runway. | |
| The Air Accident Investigation Board would have sent people to look at all aspects of the incident and see the aircraft in place - in the same way an insurance company examines a car crash and looks at where an accident happened, where other vehicles were, and where the car came to rest. | |
| "It's so that they can piece together all the elements that made that thing happen in the first place. They need to find out exactly what went wrong," Ms Henderson said. | |
| She added she had used an emergency squawk code once, following a technical issue on board an aircraft. | |
| "It's still very rare for these things to happen, but obviously on a single runway where you've got to carry out an investigation afterwards, it has a massive impact on all the air traffic that should have been arriving and departing from that airport on that day," she added. | |
| Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. | Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. |