Aberdeen Airport runway scare
07.07.10
The pilot of a plane approaching Aberdeen Airport had to take evasive action when he realised a helicopter was on the runway, the Press & Journal reports. Passengers on the BMI flight from Heathrow estimated the plane was no more than 200ft above the ground when it banked sharply to the left and started to climb again. The Embraer 145, which was carrying 36 passengers, circled the airport before landing half an hour later.
A passenger on the plane, which left Heathrow at 15:00 yesterday, told the newspaper: ‘We were coming in to land and everything seemed norma, but the pilot suddenly accelerated hard, went to the left and we started climbing again. The pilot came on the loudspeaker and said he couldn’t land because there was a helicopter on the runway.’
A spokesman for air traffic controller NATS said: ‘There was a helicopter that was the required distance ahead of the aircraft but did not leave the runway as swiftly as it should have done. The controller and the pilot both saw it, and to retain the necessary separation the aircraft went round and landed safely once the helicopter vacated the runway.’
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