A PLANE had to emergency landing at Southampton airport after one of its engines shut down.

Emergency services were placed on alert in preparation for the landing.

The pilot of the private aircraft had to ask the airport if they could land almost immediately.

The plane, of an unknown description, suffered the engine failure, leaving passengers braced for the emergency landing shortly before 10am yesterday.

St Mary’s and Eastleigh sent fire crews, with Redbridge and Romsey also on standby.

The landing was forced after a starboard engine shut down due to an oil pressure problem.

A statement from the airport said: “Southampton Airport can confirm that at 9.40am a divert request was received from a private aircraft with a technical issue on-board.

“Local emergency services arrived on-site as a precautionary measure and at 09.51am the aircraft landed safely and local services were stood down.”

No-one was injured with emergency services leaving the airstrip at 10am.

It is unclear how the aircraft developed the issue, or where it had taken off from.

The Eastleigh-based airport has emergency procedures, which the airport say were followed.

No other flights were delayed as a result at the airport, which sees flights depart every 30 minutes.