Airport closed after Ryanair plane leaves runway
30.04.08
A Polish airport was closed yesterday after a Ryanair plane bound for East Midlands Airport came off the runway and got stuck in the mud with 170 passengers on board. The plane got stuck while turning around at the end of the tarmac as it finished its taxiing before takeoff. Strong winds had forced planes to use the full length of the runway, which could have contributed to the incident.
No planes were able to take off or land at Lodz Airport yesterday after the incident - which took place at noon local time - because the Boeing 737 jet was stuck partially obstructing the runway. Technicians were forced to pull the plane back onto the runway before it could be moved.
The passengers were taken by bus 80 miles east to Warsaw, the nearest available airport, to board an alternative flight to East Midlands Airport with the budget airline. Lodz flights were also being diverted to Warsaw, and a bus service was provided for passengers.
A Ryanair spokeswoman said the airline was investigating the incident, and confirmed that its front nose wheel had become lodged in the mud. She said: ‘Whilst taxiing, the nose wheel of the aircraft due to operate flight FR1624 from Lodz to East Midlands, sank into the soft stopway surface off the beginning of the runway.'
‘The aircraft, which is undamaged, was moving slowly and had not started its take off procedure. All passengers disembarked normally from the aircraft using the front steps and were bussed to the terminal. Our engineers are on route to move the aircraft to the terminal building.’
She added that the incident had been reported to the Irish Aviation Authority, which has jurisdiction over the Irish-run airline, and that it would be ‘properly investigated’.
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