A TUI jet packed with 200 passengers suffered a “catastrophic failure” as it touched down in the UK a new report has revealed.
The “dramatic” landing by the Boeing 737-8K5 took place as the country was being absolutely battered by Storm Babet.
Air investigators say that as it was landing at Leeds Bradford Airport last October when it veered off the runway and onto the grass.
According to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) one of the aircraft’s nosewheel bearings had suffered a “catastrophic failure”, which was likely to have happened during the “rollout”, which the final phase of landing when the aircraft moves along the runway and taxis to its parking spot, reports i.
The aircraft did sustain minor damage – but nobody onboard the flight from Corfu was injured.
A passenger onboard described the landing as “a little bit dramatic” but that everyone on the flight remained “quite calm.”
Malcolm Fell said: “The plane came down and the pilot applied reverse thrust and the brakes, and it started to aquaplane – or it seemed that way,” reports i.
He added: “It seemed to speed up rather than slow down.
“My wife turned to me and she said: ‘I think you better brace yourself because this is not going to stop’. All of a sudden we were at a standstill on the grass.”
The official report revealed that as the plane began to move to the left, the crew reported feeling a significant judder but the full range of rudder application was not used to correct the drift.
The crew reported attempting to regain control on the plane as the aircraft approached the runway edge but were unable to.
The aircraft left the runway at a ground speed of around 63mph and came to a stop six seconds later on the muddy ground which was approximately 500ft beyond the taxiway.
The AAIB said in a press release published today: “After touching down at Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) in stormy weather, the aircraft began to yaw left of the runway centreline.
“When the pilot flying increased the right rudder input to correct the deviation, both pilots reported feeling a significant judder from the nose gear.
“This prompted the pilot flying to reduce the right rudder input and, although there were repeated brief right pedal inputs, the aircraft continued to deviate from the centreline and left the runway. The aircraft sustained minor damage and there were no injuries.”
It added: “The investigation found that one of the aircraft’s nosewheel bearings had suffered a catastrophic failure, likely during the rollout at LBA.
“The resultant juddering was unexpected, and the crew were uncertain as to its impact. However, the investigation found that there was in fact no mechanical impediment to the use of additional rudder and braking to prevent the runway excursion.”
A spokesperson for Leeds Bradford airport told Express.co.uk: “Our safety and compliance team worked closely with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch following the incident in October last year.
“While supporting the AAIB, we also took the opportunity to conduct our own internal investigation to review our emergency response processes and procedures.
“We were satisfied that the conclusions presented in the AAIB bulletin issued on 24 October and the outcomes reached in relation to the airport mirrored the outcomes of our own investigation.”
Express.co.uk has approached TUI and Boeing for comment.