Lufthansa Emergency Landing
From the Evening Post Today
A passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Bristol Airport this morning after pilots detected the smell of smoke in the cockpit.
The Lufthansa flight - LH2965 - which was carrying 31 passengers and 4 crew, took off from the airport at 6.30am but returned as a precautionary measure after reporting a technical problem.
Fire and ambulance services attended the scene, and all of those on board safely disembarked from the plane.
They are now being rebooked on later flights.
Lufthansa spokesman Dave Sanders said: “There was a technical issue that the pilot became aware of shortly after take-off, and he decided to return to the airport instead of continuing with his flight, landing safely at 7.09am.
“The pilot reported a smell of smoke in the cockpit. This could have been dust in the cockpit, but until an examination of the plane is carried out we can't be sure.”
Authorities were alerted and the emergency services were put on standby, following the standard procedure when an aircraft reports a potential technical fault.
Mr Sanders said: “At no point were any of the passengers in danger, and an engineer is due to come over from Germany today to examine the aircraft.”
Bristol Airport spokesman James Gore said: “The plane returned the airport when the crew reported a smell of smoke in the cockpit. All the passengers got off safely.”