A TUI plane was forced to return to Manchester Airport in "emergency mode" after its tail hit the runway.
The fully booked TOM 2384 flight to Fuerteventura was taking off around 8.30am on March 9 when the tail "contacted the runway surface". The incident is described as a "tail strike" and the Boeing 737-800 was forced to stop its ascent at 10,000ft - as Manchester Evening News reports.
The pilot had to burn off fuel by flying around the Lake District before it safely returned to Manchester Airport, 45 minutes after departure. Passengers boarded a new aircraft seven hours later and a spokeswoman from the aircraft company branded the return landing as "precautionary".
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She said: "Flight TOM2384 from Manchester to Fuerteventura conducted a precautionary return landing after experiencing a technical issue. The safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority and everyone was safely disembarked. We would like to apologise to those customers affected and thank them for their patience and understanding."
In aviation a tail strike occurs when the tail of an aircraft strikes the ground or other stationary object. It can happen in both take-off or landing. Although a minor tail strike may not be dangerous in itself, it's understood it can weaken the aircraft so it must be fully inspected and repaired to avoid further incident in its operating life.
The original plane was reported to still be on the ground at Manchester around 26 hours after landing - and Manchester Evening News asked TUI for a comment on what happened to the aircraft.
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