A RYANAIR flight from Birmingham declared an emergency prior to landing at Shannon airport yesterday amid fears that a tyre in the rear undercarriage had been damaged during take-off.
Flight 1313, which left Birmingham at 2.50pm on its scheduled service to Shannon, was carrying 177 passengers and crew. The aircraft carried out a low-level fly past over the airport’s main runway so that fire crews on the ground could visually inspect the landing gear as the aircraft flew past.
After nothing unusual was observed in the undercarriage, air traffic controllers contacted the pilot and advised him that he could land. The jet touched down safely just minutes later under the watchful eyes of crash crews.
The alarm was raised after ground crews at Birmingham discovered rubber debris on the runway after the Ryanair Boeing 737-800 jet had departed for Shannon. Air traffic control in Birmingham contacted the crew of the Ryanair flight to notify it of the discovery.
As the flight began its descent into Shannon, the captain notified controllers at the airport of the potential problem and requested that emergency services be placed on standby.
Units of the fire brigade from Shannon and Ennis, along with ambulances from Limerick and Ennis, were scrambled to the airport in support of the airport’s own fire and rescue service.
A Ryanair spokesperson said last night: “A piece of rubber was discovered on the runway at Birmingham airport. Air traffic control in Birmingham notified the crew of the discovery and as a precaution, the pilot asked the emergency crews be put on standby at Shannon. The aircraft landed without incident.”