Jet Makes Emergency Landing In Northern Ireland

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — A passenger plane made a safe emergency landing Tuesday after developing technical problems, Belfast International Airport said.

The Thomas Cook Airbus A320, bound from Belfast to Tenerife, landed at around 1130 GMT (6:30 a.m. EDT), the airport said.

A spokeswoman from Thomas Cook, one of Britain's biggest tour operators, said that 175 people were on board the plane. She spoke on condition of anonymity, citing company policy,

A "minor technical difficulty with the landing gear" caused the pilot to turn back to the airport shortly after it took off, she said.

The plane circled over Northern Ireland to use up fuel before landing, as fire engines and ambulances waited on the runway.

The aircraft will be inspected by fire officials before passengers are allowed to disembark, the airport said.

All the passengers will return to the same plane at 3 p.m. and continue their journey to Tenerife, Thomas Cook said.

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Comments

[KIVPossum]

08:28 AM on 02/07/2012

If you're having problems with the landing gear, why turn back. The gear will go down at your destination, or not.

[rugbymom]

08:50 AM on 02/07/2012

If you notice a problem right after take-off, isn't it more likely being unable to retract the gear than being unable to release it? I'm not an expert on aerodynamics, but planes may behave strangely at 33,000 feet with the landing gear still in the "down" position. I trust the pilot on this one.

[Skyseeker1]

07:55 PM on 02/07/2012

This kind of non critical "emergency" would certainly be discussed by the pilot and his director of flight operations manager. ( they have secure and dedicated communications equipment for this kind of situation ) The safety of the aircraft would be the pilots responsibility , but , if it's just a safe to land at the departure airport as an airport where the facilities are available to best handle the repair than that is where the manager would recommend it land.