Flybe incident at Belfast International Airport

A Flybe plane with 57 people on board has been forced to make an emergency landing with no nose gear in place at Belfast International Airport.

The Bombardier Q-400 had taken off from City Airport at 11.07am bound for Inverness but reported an undercarriage fault as it burned fuel in a holding pattern for about two hours.

 Flight BE331 was diverted to the Belfast International where a longer runway was available and landed safely at about 1.30pm with the front of the plane unsupported, and the runway was closed to other aircraft.

The plane was carrying 52 passengers, one infant, and four crew members.

One person was taken to hospital with a minor hand injury. No other injuries have been reported.

Images from the scene showed the jet tipped forward on to its nose.

In a statement, the airline said: “Flybe can confirm that one passenger was taken to hospital with a minor hand injury following an incident involving one of our aircraft this afternoon which landed with its nose gear raised at Belfast International Airport at 1.30pm local time.

“There are no further reports of any other passenger or crew injuries.

“There were 52 passengers plus one infant on board and four crew members.

“We are sending a specialist team to Belfast to offer assistance and we will now do all we can to understand the cause of this incident.”

Brian Strutton, general secretary of pilots’ union Balpa, described landing without nose gear as a “very difficult manoeuvre”.

He added: “The pilots in this case appear to have done a sterling job of bringing the aircraft back under those circumstances.”

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