Fire service assists in safe evacuation of flight passengers

Almost 200 people had to be safely removed from an aircraft when it went off the runway at Newcastle Airport recently.

The plane concerned was a Thomson-run flight from Lanzarote and Tyne and Wear Fire Service have confirmed that although it remained on the asphalt it had still “gone very slightly off the runway”.

The group manager for the fire service, Keith Carruthers, said that there had been no injuries in this particular incident.

The airport’s own fire service worked with regular firefighters to tackle this emergency situation which occurred just after 9pm at night.

Mr Carruthers explained that the firefighters helped to evacuate the 196 passengers of the incoming Boeing 747 by making use of the plane’s stairs.

He said:

“There were no injuries reported from any of the passengers. They seemed fine in all honesty, it’s just they were disembarking in a different position. Most of them did not realise anything was different.

“The plane had gone very slightly off the runway. It’s still on the hard-standing Tarmac, it’s not on the grass.

“With the icy conditions we are still in attendance assisting the airport fire service get the plane in the correct position.”

There was no visible damage done to the plane, although an inquiry will now begin as the Air Accident Investigation Branch look to establish what happened that day.