Passengers travelling in Ryanair were left flabbargsted after the flight was reportedly forced to abort take-off moments before leaving the runway.
Flight FR9378, bound for Seville from Birmingham Airport, was set to take off just before 1pm on Thursday. However, while it was on the runway preparing for departure, the flight had to stop suddenly because a warning light reportedly appeared in the cockpit.
The plane was pushed to make a return after the false alarm.
The flight was eventually rescheduled with a replacement aircraft, resulting in a delay of nearly three hours before it finally departed.
David Fern, a passenger from Leicester who was one of those on board when the aircraft suddenly stopped on the runway, was among the many passengers left upset with the move.
He told Birmingham Live: “It came to a stop. I saw the wing flaps retract, then the engines went quiet. The only thing they have told us is that a light came on in the cockpit, no other explanation.
“I knew something was wrong the way it came to a sudden stop and the engine noise cut out.”
The sudden stop left passengers curious about the technical issue, as the crew was unable to provide an explanation.
Amid the uncertainty on board, Fern remained calm and composed throughout the incident.
He said: “There was some delay and very little information provided. I just thought: ‘Do I need to run?’ I didn’t panic, I just thought maybe I need to get out. I didn’t see any smoke so thought it must be OK.”
After a period of uncertainty, passengers were finally informed they would be transferred to another aircraft.
Ryanair later said in a statement: “This flight from Birmingham to Seville (November 7) did not take off as planned due to a minor technical issue with the aircraft.
“To minimise disruption to passengers, Ryanair arranged an alternative aircraft which since departed for Seville at 3.43pm local time.”
Birmingham Airport confirmed that the incident was a matter for Ryanair to handle.
