This is the tense moment a pilot battles to land a passenger jet with faulty flaps before it hits the runway in a cloud of smoke.
Frightened passengers on the TUI flight from Exeter to the Canary Islands experienced a near miss when the plane struggled to land properly in Lanzarote, due to a problem with one of the flaps.
The plane can be seen hovering above the runway before hitting the ground abruptly, causing a cloud of smoke on impact, before pulling over to a stop.
Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) reported that once they had been informed of the issue from the pilot, they told the plane to wait to the west of Lanzarote while they diverted other aircraft and cleared the approach for landing.
‘Once ready, we positioned flight BY6462 for a direct approach to runway 03, landing and clearing the runway without incident. When it had cleared the runway, it was inspected by firefighters in case an emergency disembarkation was needed,’ ATC said of the incident on Thursday.
Frightened passengers on the TUI flight from Exeter to the Canary Islands experienced a near miss when the plane struggled to land properly in Lanzarote, due to a problem with one of the flaps
The plane can be seen hovering above the runway before hitting the ground abruptly, causing a cloud of smoke on impact, before pulling over to a stop
The flaps on the back the plane’s wings are used during take-off to ‘lift’ the plane off the ground. They also help the pilot to make manoeuvres and slow the aircraft down during landing.
Earlier this month, a holidaymaker was grappled into a headlock and violently marched off a Ryanair flight by police after a Luton to Lanzarote flight was diverted to Portugal because of his behaviour.
The man, thought to be British, was forcibly removed from the plane by a dozen Portuguese police officers as other passengers watched in astonishment.
A fellow passenger who filmed the shocking scenes at Faro airport told : ‘There was a group of men who appeared to have been drinking who were bothering some female passengers.
‘When it started to get a bit out of hand one of the stewards tried to intercede and ended up getting knocked over.
‘At this point the captain gave a warning over the tannoy that unacceptable behaviour would not be tolerated and if it did not stop we would divert to Portugal.
‘But the commotion didn’t let up and 20 minutes later we were told we are landing in twenty minutes with no further information.
After the pilot has steadied the plane it makes a left turn towards the airport. Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) reported that once they had received notification of the problem from the pilot, they instructed the plane to wait to the west of Lanzarote while they diverted other aircraft and cleared the approach for landing
‘The man fighting in the video originally got off voluntarily but for some reason got back on the plane and was then forcibly removed by the police who put him in a headlock.’
‘This man was one of several who were removed,’ the passenger said.
‘It was quite shocking to see. We are all a bit shaken.’
Footage filmed inside the cabin showed several passengers with their phones out, watching in astonishment as the police dragged the man down the aisle.
The man is seen struggling against the officers, prompting them to put him in a headlock in an attempt to subdue him.
Another officer is seen holding his arm ahead of him, dragging him to the exit.
The plane left London’s Luton airport at 8am and was due to reach Lanzarote at 12.15pm local time on January 19.
However, it was diverted to Portugal airport instead and landed at Faro in Portugal’s Algarve region at around 10.50am local time, with police boarding shortly after.
In a statement to Ryanair said: ‘This flight from London Luton to Lanzarote diverted to Faro when passengers became disruptive onboard.
‘Crew called ahead for police assistance and the aircraft was met by local police upon arrival who removed the disruptive passengers. The flight continued to Lanzarote following a short delay. This is now a matter for local police.’