FlyBe plane forced to make emergency landing at Belfast airport

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/dec/16/flybe-plane-emergency-landing-belfast

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A Flybe plane had to make an emergency landing at Belfast international airport on Tuesday night after one of its engines caught fire. The aircraft had been heading to Belfast City Airport from Glasgow but was diverted.

All 76 passengers and four crew were safely taken off the plane. One passenger described a “big firebomb” going off in one of the engines.

Owen Glenn said the fireball lit up the entire side of the plane. “There were sparks coming out, so they shut down that engine. We were running on one engine after that,” he said. “People were getting a little panicked. The crew were doing their best to calm everybody down, but people weren’t really sure what was happening.”

Quintin Oliver, a community and peace activist, was also on the flight. He said passengers had to jump six feet from the plane as it had no emergency steps to the ground. “It’s a short, 20-to-25-minute flight, and there was a visible shudder throughout the plane and those on the left-hand side behind the engine clearly saw it burst into flames,” Oliver said.

One passenger described the engine as looking like a “burning rocket” and reported the plane lurching as flames shot out of the back. Soon afterwards, the plane stabilised on its second engine.