Praise for air crew’s emergency landing (From Daily Echo)

Praise for air crew’s emergency landing

7:40pm Monday 5th October 2009 in News By Julian Robinson, Eastleigh Chief Reporter

TERRIFIED passengers sobbed with fear as they braced themselves for an emergency landing at Southampton Airport.

A burning smell filled the cabin of the Flybe flight from Edinburgh as it prepared for its descent to the runway.

Crew members on board the BE-7248 service frantically checked cupboards and looked out of the windows as they tried to locate the source of the odour.

Minutes later they told frightened passengers to tighten their seatbelts, stow away sharp objects and prepare for an emergency landing.

Passenger Tim Richardson, a father of two, said the aircraft appeared to make “droning” sounds as it approached the runway.

Inside the cabin there was a chilling silence – interrupted only by the sound of sobbing. “A number of people were crying and the plane made an awful noise on the two or three occasions we had to change direction,” he said.

“It felt like it was going to be a full-on emergency landing – they said that we should brace ourselves. It felt like we were going to have a crash. You could tell the hostess had a lot of fear in her voice.

But all the girls were incredible considering the circumstances. It really did not feel like a good situation.”

On the ground, teams of firefighters from Eastleigh and Southampton were put on standby as a precaution.

When the Embraer ERJ-195 jet touched down safely at Southampton Airport, firefighters rushed on board while passengers were ushered to safety. No one was hurt. According to Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, a bearing in the air conditioning unit of the plane had overheated.

Mr Richardson, of Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, said there were around 70 to 80 people on board the plane, which was not full. He added “The woman sitting opposite me was crying and when we landed I leant over and squeezed her hand because she was so upset. The pilot and cabin crew were fantastic, although the girls looked very scared.’’ A spokeswoman for Flybe said the flight experienced a “minor technical issue” and that the pilot had requested a priority landing slot.

She added: “The aircraft was fully inspected by Flybe technicians and has resumed its flying programme today.

“The safety of passengers remains our number one priority and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.”’’