Investigation after 'big bang' led to Stansted take-off being aborted

Investigation after ‘big bang’ led to Stansted take-off being aborted

Tuesday, 03 Mar, 2019 0

Flights from Stansted were grounded for three hours on Friday night after an incident involving a Laudamotion aircraft.

The captain of an Airbus A320 bound for Vienna decided to abort take-off after engine issues.

Passengers described hearing a ‘big bang’ and said the aircraft came skidding to a halt.

Passengers had to be evacuated and eight people were injured when they went down the inflatable slides. Two were taken to hospital for minor injuries.

A statement from the airline said: "The crew of OE flight from Stansted to Vienna decided to abort the take off due to engine issues and to disembark the passengers on the runway as a precautionary measure."

Passengers were transferred to a flight that left London on Saturday morning.

The AAIB said it will be sending a team to Stansted to investigate the incident.

In an update on Friday, London Stansted said the aircraft had been removed and a full inspection took place.

Bev

Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.