Passenger aircraft skids off runway at UK airport

UK

A plane has skidded off the runway at Leeds Bradford Airport while landing in heavy rain.

The incident happened as the plane – a TUI flight from Corfu – landed at the West Yorkshire airport on Friday afternoon.

A spokesperson said: “We can confirm TUI flight TOM3551 arriving from Corfu at LBA this afternoon has moved off the runway while landing.

“We are working with the airline, relevant operations teams and emergency authorities to address this situation and remove passengers from the aircraft safely.”

No injuries or fires have been reported.

Storm Babet latest: Second person dies and new red weather warning issued

The plane came off the runway at Leeds Bradford Airport. Pic: Fiona Marr
Image:
Pic: Fiona Marr

Fiona Marr, who was with her son watching the planes land when the incident took place, described it as a “hard landing”.

“The wings were going up and down and it kind of landed sideways, then ended up in the grass,” she said.

“It was a hard landing. Straight away there was a really loud alarm coming from the airport which I’ve not heard before – and we go up there a lot.

“Then the engines came straight away. They [the passengers] must have been terrified.”

Read more:
Where else will Storm Babet cause bad weather?
Storm Babet batters large parts of the country

The airport is currently under an amber weather warning from the Met Office, covering a strip of England from Newcastle down to Nottingham, amid the destructive Storm Babet.

The amber alert, which warns of persistent heavy rain and the likelihood of flooding, is in place from midday on Friday until 6am on Saturday.

A spokesperson for TUI said the airline was “aware of an incident at Leeds Bradford Airport this afternoon during the landing of flight TOM3551”, but that there had been no reported injuries.

It comes as parts of England begin to feel the impact of the storm – which previously swept across Ireland and last night battered eastern Scotland.

Red, amber and yellow weather warnings are in place for rain and wind. Pic: Met Office
Image:
Red, amber and yellow weather warnings are in place for rain and wind. Pic: Met Office

Two people have died in the storm.

Police Scotland said a 56-year-old driver was killed after a tree struck a van on the B9127 at Whigstreet near Forfar at around 5.05pm on Thursday.

A woman also died in Scotland when she was swept into a river amid gale-force winds and severe flooding.

The body of the 57-year-old was recovered from the Water of Lee, a river in the eastern area of Angus, on Thursday.

A rare red weather alert issued by the Met Office, warning of a “danger to life from fast flowing or deep floodwater” in parts of Scotland, was extended until midnight on Saturday.

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