A passenger has praised a holiday airline and its pilots after a jet bound for Cardiff Airport was forced to make an emergency landing when one of its engines failed. Roger Wannell, aged 58, praised the plane's pilots and holiday company Thomson for the way they handled the incident, the Swansea Evening Post reports.
Mr Wannell was returning from a holiday in Spain when the drama unfolded. The Boeing 757 took off from Alicante at 19:20 last Tuesday en route to Cardiff Airport. As it began to climb he heard a bang. He said: 'I was sat near the back of the plane. It was very scary. We could see sparks coming out of the engine. Other passengers said they could see fire.'
'Although it was a frightening experience, there was no major panic on the plane. The pilot said it was an engine problem and we would be returning to the airport. After circling for about 40 minutes, the plane made an emergency landing and we were able to disembark normally.'
'The pilots' did brilliantly, landing smoothly after such a scare. Thomson did very well. The airport was pretty much closed for the night, but they arranged for food and drink to be brought to us. We were able to return home on another flight and were all happy to complete the journey.'
A CAA spokesman confirmed that the incident had been reported. No-one from Cardiff Airport or Thomson was available for comment.
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