Three or four 'loud bangs' were heard with passengers 'screaming' as a plane had to make an emergency landing just after taking off from Manchester Airport this morning. It is the second TUI flight to make such a landing within four days.
The plane sent a 7700 'Squawk' code signalling an emergency at 13,000ft shortly after taking off at a delayed time of 10.30am for Cape Verde. It then circled above Macclesfield and Buxton for more than two hours before landing back where it had started around 1.12pm where fire engines were awaiting the plane.
Passengers onboard the plane have told the Manchester Evening News how shortly after take off three or four "loud bangs" were heard and the wing could be seen "shaking". This was followed by passengers screaming in fear and a member of cabin crew running down the aisle before attempting to calm flyers.
READ MORE: TUI flight issues emergency alert after Manchester take-off as it circles over North West for hours
Lee Marsh, who was sat on a seat overlooking the wing, said: "I'm quite scared of flying anyway and I was sat right on the wing when everybody heard a thud and a bang. I looked outside the window and saw the full engine on the wing shaking. There were so many people screaming.
"We got near to Liverpool then there was a really loud bang before a cabin crew member started running down the aisle. Then we were just circling for ages but this made the turbulence really bad with people still screaming because of this.
"The captain said before the flight there were problems with the back engine anyway which didn't fill us with confidence. People are now saying they want to cancel the whole flight. I don't want to fly with TUI now after this and seeing what happened a few days ago.
"You hear noises on planes all the time and you know that's normal but these were really loud bangs. A crew member was making an announcement when the first bang happened but after the second they started running down the aisle.
"My partner works for BA and is used to flying but had never heard anything like the bangs before. It was really worrying seeing him worried as he flies all the time. It was so scary."
Another passenger, Chris Norton, said: "Air crew were all calm, confident and reassuring. Captain and first officer performed as expected."
TUI confirmed the plane returned to Manchester Airport due to a 'technical issue' and it is standard procedure for fire crews to meet the plane on landing. Flights are unable to land in Cape Verde at night so passengers are being put up in a hotel for the night and will be told of a new flight time for tomorrow morning. TUI also confirmed that passengers will be able to claim compensation and will receive a refund for the night of the holiday missed.
This is the second time in four days a TUI flight has had to return to Manchester due to a 'technical fault'. Another TUI flight had to turn back to Manchester for an emergency landing on Friday (June 24) night after passengers could smell 'smoke'. The flight, which was already 15 hours delayed, was flying over mainland Europe when it turned around for Manchester.
A TUI spokesman said: "We can confirm flight TOM216 to Boa Vista, Cape Verde, has returned to Manchester Airport this afternoon due to a technical issue. The aircraft landed at 13:12 and all passengers and crew were disembarked safely.
"The safety of our customers and crew is always our highest priority and we’d like to reassure customers that the decision to return to Manchester was taken as a precautionary measure.
"Due to landing restrictions at Boa Vista Airport, this flight is unable to depart today and our teams are currently working through a new flight plan. We’ll be contacting customers directly to let them know of their new departure time as soon as we can, and offering them overnight accommodation, meals and transport to and from the airport if needed.
"We’d like to apologise to all customers onboard for the inconvenience and thank them for their patience and understanding at this time."
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