Abit dodgy if you ask me, especially after the low-cost airlines’ safety being questioned. Isn’t it funny how news ‘seems’ to make things happen, remember the Concorde crash? News agencies reported that concorde had cracks in the wings.. a day or two later the paris disaster!
Anyway heres the report taken from the ITV site:
Mid-air fire on budget airline
10.46AM BST, 25 Jun 2002
A passenger plane travelling from Glasgow to Amsterdam has been forced to make an unscheduled landing after fire broke out on board.
The easyJet Boeing 737 jet, with 134 people on board, touched down at Newcastle at about 8.30am after a bin caught fire at the back of the aircraft.
The fire was put out by cabin crew before the aircraft landed and passengers were safely transferred to another plane.
Tyne & Wear Fire Brigade confirmed it had been alerted by Newcastle Airport, but no fire-fighters were sent out as the incident was dealt with by the airport’s fire-fighting personnel.
A spokesman said: “We were informed about a small fire in a bin in the rear galley area of the aircraft.
“The fire was extinguished by the cabin crew before landing and all passengers were taken off the aircraft safely.”
EasyJet said the plane made a “precautionary landing” and it would now be inspected to establish the cause of the fire.
A spokesman said: “It would be incorrect to call it an emergency landing.
“Fire-fighters boarded the aircraft with the passengers on board and checked it over to make sure there was no cause for concern.
“The passengers have been put on board a new aircraft and the plane will be checked by easyJet’s engineers and maintenance staff.
“We have a spare aircraft so there should be no effect on other flights.”
By: Bhoy - 25th June 2002 at 18:09
RE: EZY737 makes “precautionary landing” at EGNT t
no fear of seeing that on Airline.. have you seen a single camera at either Glasgow or Newcastle?
This is how the Evening Times in Glasgow reported it.
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MID-AIR DRAMA ON GLASGOW TO AMSTERDAM FLIGHT
By Alexander Robertson
A PLANE carrying 140 people from Glasgow to Amsterdam was forced into an emergency landing today.
The drama came after fears a fire had broken out in the galley area of the easyJet plane.
A crew member reported smoke coming from a bin.
The terrified 134 passengers were then told by the pilot there was a fire and he would have to land the Boeing 737 at Newcastle Airport.
Young children cried while other travellers shouted in panic as the plane made a sudden and rapid descent.
The descent from more than 30,000ft took just 16 minutes and the flight landed safely at 8.19am, to be met by nine fire engines and eight ambulances on the runway.
EasyJet said the plane made a “precautionary landing” and it was inspected to find out the cause of the smoke.
It later emerged it was vapour from dry ice.
An easyJet spokesman said: “Firefighters boarded the aircraft while the passengers were still on board and checked it to make sure there was no cause for concern.
“The plane will be checked by engineers and maintenance staff.”
Firefighters checked the aircraft with thermal imaging before passengers were allowed off.
Flight EZY868 had left Glasgow at 7.30am, crewed by four stewardesses and two pilots.
A replacement aircraft was sent to Newcastle from Luton Airport to take travellers the rest of their journey to Schipol Airport. It left at 11.30am.
It was later revealed the scare happened after a stewardess mistook a white plume rising from dry ice for smoke.
The ice is used to keep the crew’s food cool and is routinely dumped in the galley bin once it has been used.
But, on seeing the mist, the stewardess thought the bin was ablaze and turned a fire extinguisher on it.
Easyjet spokeswoman Emma Coulthurst said: “It is usual for the crew to put the dry ice into the bin after it has been used.
“We do not know why, on this occasion, the crew member thought it was smoke.”
Today’s scare cost Easyjet thousands of pounds. As well as doubling the cost of the trip to Amsterdam for the airline, it took one of the firm’s jets out of action for most of the day.
An Air Accident Investigations Branch spokesman said an investigation was underway.
——————————————————————-
PASSENGER John Willoughby told today of the “shock and panic” on board the easyJet plane as it made a rapid descent and the pilot announced that there may be a fire on board.
John Willoughby, 31, a taxi driver from Rutherglen, was going on a day trip to Amsterdam.
He said: “We were about 30 minutes into the flight when we started descending rapidly.
“The pilot then told us there was a fire on board and we would have to make an emergency landing.
“There was real shock and panic, though the stewardesses tried to reassure everyone that it was a routine safety procedure.
“There was a guy next to me flying for the first time and he was panicking, shouting and swearing.
“Behind me there were three children aged from two to 10 who were crying … the speed of the descent was hurting their ears.”
Mr Willoughby added: “The pilot reassured everyone and staff on board did their job and put their training into practice. It was very well handled.”
He said the experience had not put him off flying and was looking forward to the remainder of his trip.
Attachments:
By: T5 - 25th June 2002 at 11:32
RE: EZY737 makes “precautionary landing” at EGNT t
I wonder if we’ll see that one on ITV’s Airline!!
By: LGKR - 25th June 2002 at 11:25
RE: EZY737 makes “precautionary landing” at EGNT t
More info from easyjet.com:
easyJet flight 868 Glasgow-Amsterdam
easyJet flight 868 diverted to Newcastle this morning after a member of crew reported evidence of smoke emanating from a waste-bin in the rear galley area.
The cabin crew opened the bin (which has a spring lid) and discharged a fire extinguisher into the bin. Once this was undertaken, no further smoke was seen coming from the bin.
The Captain followed the standard operating procedures and the aircraft made a precautionary (not an emergency) landing at Newcastle. Once landed, the Newcastle Airport Fire Services boarded the aircraft with all the passengers still in place and declared that there were no “hot spots” in the rear galley area.
An initial investigation has shown no evidence of any burning or fire in the isolated area. Dry ice bags have been found in the metal waste-bin container, which may prove to be the cause of the ‘smoke’.
Further investigations are being conducted. The aircraft is currently out of service. A stand-by aircraft has been sent from Luton to enable the passengers to continue their journey.
Flight details:
Flight EZY868 Glasgow – Amsterdam
Aircraft G-EZYB
134 passengers and 4 crew on board
Departed Glasgow at 07.24. Scheduled time of arrival at Amsterdam 08.24
Time of incident 08.10
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June 25, 2002 at 11:22 am