An investigation is under way after a Ryanair flight battling with high wind speeds during storm Amy last week landed at Manchester airport with just six minutes of fuel left in its tanks.
The pilots had been taking passengers from Pisa in Italy to Prestwick in Scotland on Friday evening, but wind speeds of up to 100mph meant they were unable to land.
After three failed attempts to touch down, the pilots of Ryanair flight FR3418 issued a mayday emergency call and raced to Manchester, where the weather was calmer.
The Boeing 737-800 had just 220kg of fuel left in its tanks when it finally landed, according to a picture of what appears to be a handwritten technical log. Pilots who examined the picture said this would be enough for just five or six minutes of flying.
Analysis of the log suggests the plane left Pisa with reserve fuel, as commercial flights are required to do.
A spokesperson for the airline said: “Ryanair reported this to the relevant authorities on Friday [3 October]. As this is now subject of an ongoing investigation, which we are co-operating fully with, we are unable to comment.”
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch confirmed on Thursday it had opened an investigation after being notified by Ryanair.
A spokesperson said: “The AAIB has commenced an investigation into a serious incident involving an aircraft which was diverted from Prestwick to Manchester Airport on Friday 3 October. AAIB inspectors have begun making inquiries and gathering evidence.”
The Boeing 737-800 can carry up to 189 passengers. One person on board recounted what is thought to have been a two-hour attempt to make a safe landing, saying the plane made two attempts to land at Prestwick, before heading for Edinburgh and finally Manchester.
“Everyone was calm until the descent; we were being buffeted around a lot and jumping. There were a few worried people on the second descent as we could feel the plane was struggling,” Alexander Marchi told the Ayr Advertiser.
“Then the pilot surprised us by saying he was going to attempt Edinburgh. This was just as bad, though, as the second time at Prestwick.
after newsletter promotion
“There was turbulence over the Firth of Forth and then as we approached the airport, as we were very close to landing, again we had to pull up sharply.”
The passengers were taken from Manchester to Prestwick, arriving 10 hours later than the scheduled arrival time of 6pm on Friday.
One pilot who reviewed the log said: “Just imagine that whenever you land with less than 2T (2,000kg) of fuel left you start paying close attention to the situation. Less than 1.5T you are sweating. But this is as close to a fatal accident as possible.”
