Passengers on a jet that ‘bounced hard’ off the runway after an unsuccessful landing at Bristol Airport have spoken out about their experience.
Passengers on a TUI aircraft from Cape Verde to Bristol endured a 20-hour journey that included pilots issuing an emergency code, a detour to Birmingham airport, and the dispatching of emergency teams when passengers became ill.
The adventure on board the Boeing Dreamliner was scheduled to begin early Tuesday evening with a flight back to Bristol from Cape Verde, a West African holiday resort.
However, the troubles began when the flight was delayed for many hours before taking departure just before midnight, with an arrival time in Bristol slated for around 6 a.m. on Wednesday.
However, passengers said that when the pilot began the descent into Bristol Airport, things began to go awry.
The plane fell to 800 feet before ascending again, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar, however people on board stated they did touch down on the runway – hard – before flying off again.
‘We went down and the plane honestly felt like it smashed the tarmac, then we went back up into the air,’ passenger Rachael Lewis, from Devon, told Bristol Live.
‘The captain explained that this was normal and that he would try again. “We did a large turn, and then he said there was a system error,” she added.
‘It was terrifying, to be honest. I landed in Canada in the midst of ice and snow, yet this was a ‘bounce, bounce’ situation.
Although a new destination was announced – Birmingham Airport – the passengers and crew’s agony was far from ended.
The pilot issued a ‘code 7700’ general emergency signal just north of Gloucester, alerting air traffic controllers that there was a problem with the plane and that it needed to land.
Even additional delays occurred when the jet was evaluated to determine whether it could return to Bristol.
Passengers were kept aboard the plane for two hours, which made things difficult.
Lewis added: ‘Loads of people were kicking off.
‘One man was abusive to staff, so they called the police.’
He was hauled off the plane, and a pregnant woman on board became very unwell, requiring first-aid treatment from firefighters and paramedics who boarded the plane.
After two hours, passengers were informed that the plane would not be returning to Bristol, and they were allowed to disembark, gather their luggage, and wait in the airport terminal for a coach back down the M5.