Dad says he’s ‘lucky to be here’ after Edinburgh Flybe plane crashed off runway at Amsterdam airport when landing gear collapsed
James Herkes, from Fife, was flying to the Netherlands to celebrate his birthday with his cousin when the flight drama unfolded
A DAD has told how he feared for his life after a plane flying from Edinburgh to Amsterdam crash landed on the runway.
James Herkes, 38, flew to the capital of the Netherlands today to celebrate his birthday with his cousin.
James, from Ceres, Fife, revealed how passengers screamed in terror as the flight drama unfolded.
He said: "As soon at the descent started I knew things weren’t good because of the crosswinds.
"The plane was going up and down like a fairground ride.
"It was stomach churning.
"When I looked around people were holding each other.
"I didn’t know how the plane was going to be able straighten up to land."
James added: “Throughout all this we weren’t given any info at all.
"No one said to brace or anything like that.
"People were screaming when the plane eventually hit the tarmac.
"You could hear the whole underneath scraping along the ground where the wheel should have been.
"When we eventually stopped there was a big round of applause.
"But then there was silence as everyone realised the plane was sat in the middle of the runway.
"The cabin crew were panicking and they just opened the doors and told us to jump out onto the tarmac.
"It was about a 4ft drop.
"To be honest I feel lucky to still be here.
"It was the scariest flight I’ve been on."
Flight BE1284 crashed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport sparking a “major incident” that led to emergency services rushing to the scene just before 5pm local time.
The Bombardier Dash 8 plane, which can carry up to 74 passengers, took off from Edinburgh at 2:10pm with a flight time of around two hours.
But a terrifying mayday call was made at 4:59pm local time.
The pilot can be heard saying: "Mayday mayday broken landing gear".
An air traffic controller replies: "Roger, copy.
"Copy your mayday".
Shocking Snapchat footage taken from inside the cabin shows one side of the aircraft plummet and crash into the ground.
Flybe later confirmed that no passengers or crew were injured.
In a statement the airline said: ";We can confirm that there are no injuries and all passengers have been bussed to the airport terminal.
"Our primary concern is for the welfare of the passengers and crew."
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