– Announcement –
The door of the Ryanair flight left open makes an emergency landing
Passengers on a Ryanair flight from Belfast were left shocked when a door was left open after taking off and heading to Edinburgh.
Ryanair passengers were terrified and the crew were reported to be in tears after the Belfast to Edinburgh flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a door was left open.
– Announcement –
Flight RK178 from Belfast International Airport to Edinburgh was forced to return to Belfast Airport on the night of Tuesday 17 October.
Ryanair confirmed the incident and said it was due to a “minor technical issue”. However, passengers on board the flight claimed that the emergency was due to a door on the plane being open when it took off.
A passenger reported that he knew something was wrong when he saw the pilot checking the plane's door. They also reported that the crew looked terrified with some of them crying.
When the plane landed, passengers were told it was a door sensor that caused the emergency.
A Ryanair spokesman said: “This flight from Belfast to Edinburgh (October 17) returned to Belfast International Airport shortly after departure due to a minor technical problem with the aircraft. The aircraft landed normally and to minimize disruption to passengers, an alternative flight was quickly arranged, departing for Edinburgh Airport at 00:40 local Ryanair sincerely apologizes to all customers affected by the inconvenience caused”.
Belfast International Airport managing director Graham Keddie also told BBC Radio Ulster that there had been an emergency landing due to a “pressurisation warning”. He said: “As far as we know, an emergency light came on in the cockpit and the plane returned last night shortly after take off. It was an emergency light warning about pressurization and , therefore the skipper immediately descended to the lower level and returned in a full emergency.”
A spokesman for the Ambulance Service said: “The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service received a 999 call at 8.16pm on Tuesday 17 October in relation to a possible incident at the International Airport of NIAS initially sent a number of resources to respond to the incident, however by 20:25 all resources were able to withdraw as they were no longer needed at the scene.