Flybe plane makes emergency landing after fume alert
16.11.07
A Flybe plane was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after take-off when fumes began leaking into the cabin, the Daily Mail reports Passengers on board the BE7125 flight from Birmingham Airport to Stuttgart in Germany complained of an 'unpleasant odour' and 'high temperatures'.
As a precaution the plane headed back to Birmingham and landed just 15 minutes after taking off. The 24 passengers were taken off the aircraft and sent back into the departures lounge where they were forced to wait three hours for the next Flybe service to Stuttgart.
A passenger told the newspaper: 'I could see smoke and smell what I thought was burning rubber. At one point the oxygen masks dropped down in front of us. When we touched down there was emergency services to meet us.
Officials at the low cost airline are now investigating the incident, which happened at 13:35 on Tuesday afternoon. It is the third time this year that fumes have leaked into the cabin on Flybe flights from Birmingham. The two previous leaks were on the Birmingham to Belfast route.
On the first incident in February, the crew had to put on oxygen masks and turn back after fumes wafted into the cabin 15 minutes after take-off. And in July two stewardesses collapsed after being overcome by fumes and all seven crew members had to be taken to hospital on landing.
Staff claim that, in addition to the three reported leaks, there have been seven other similar incidents in the last 15 months. Some crew members are reported to be so alarmed by that incident on the Flybe's BAe 146 planes that they threatened to boycott them. Flybe will be withdrawing the 16 planes from service by next February.
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