The Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 skidded onto the tarmac in Belfast. Were you on the flight? Email [email protected] or call our newsdesk on 0207 782 4368.
A HERO pilot has been applauded for his "sterling job" after he crash landed a packed Flybe jet when its landing gear failed today.
The Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, which had 52 passengers and four crew on board, skidded onto the tarmac at Belfast's International Airport.
The pilot declared an emergency on board the Flybe aircraft after spotting a problem with the nose gear shortly after take off at 11.20pm.
The plane, which was heading to Inverness, remained over Northern Ireland airspace and circled for two hours as crew tried to fix the problem and drained fuel.
But the pilot was forced to perform an emergency landing after the nose gear refused to drop.
Dramatic pictures show the aircraft's front-end resting on the tarmac following the drama.
Were you on the flight? Email [email protected] or call our newsdesk on 0207 782 4368.
Following the successful landing, in which no passengers were injured, aviation experts and the operations director at Belfast Airport praised the pilot for returning all on board safely.
Alan Whiteside, Belfast International Airport operations director, said: "It was a very good landing.
"The flying skills, landing the aircraft, were superb.
"It became very obvious when it was on approach that the nose wheel was not down so we knew that it was going to be a difficult landing.
"The flight deck crew were superb, they landed on the main undercarriage, they held the nose of the aircraft up to the last possible moment, bleeding off all the air speed and still keeping control and just dropping it at the very last minute.
"That meant it stopped relatively quickly, no issues, no fire with it, and they got it stopped safely on the runway."
He said fire crews were on the scene immediately to assist in evacuating the aircraft.
The emergency response went "extremely smoothly".
"There were a significant number of units because of the serious potential nature of the incident, so they were all on site by the time the aircraft was landing and it all went very smoothly thankfully."
He said one passenger received a thumb sprain.
Brian Strutton, general secretary of the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), said: “Landing without a nose gear is a very difficult manoeuvre, but one pilots train extensively for.
"The pilots in this case appear to have done a sterling job of bringing the aircraft back under those circumstances.
“We expect the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) will commence its work to look into this incident immediately, and we will support them in whatever way we can.”
Flybe confirmed the incident involved flight BE331.
A spokesman said: "The aircraft departed from Belfast City at 1107 local time bound for Inverness. The incident occurred at Belfast International Airport at approximately 1.30pm local time.
"There are 52 passengers on board and four crew members.
"Our primary concern is for the welfare of the passengers and crew."
A spokeswoman for Belfast International Airport added: "A Flybe flight from Belfast to Inverness declared an emergency and landed at Aldergrove at about 1.20pm today.
"The airport is still open and full emergency procedures have been deployed."
An investigation into the incident is now underway.
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