There were screams from passengers as a plane veered off the runway at Leeds Bradford Airport and ended up on the grass this afternoon.
The drama unfolded amid horrific weather conditions that are battering eastern Scotland and parts of England today.
The TUI flight had landed at Leeds Bradford Airport when the incident happened - and firefighters are on the scene helping passengers off the aircraft, a Boeing 737.
TOM23C is reported to have vacated the runway when landing at Leeds Bradford (LBA/EGNM) leading to the temporary closure of the airport. https://t.co/V2wx6USTAq pic.twitter.com/pZI1Bfz6tA
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 20, 2023
Bradford man Garry Stockdill, whose brother Keith is on the plane, said: "They were landing at Leeds-Bradford Airport and they overshot the runway. The plane is now on the grass. My brother said there was mud all over the wing."
Stockdill added: "They are all okay. Just very shaken up. People were screaming. The fire service are trying to find a way to get them off the plane."
Emergency services were scrambled to the scene.
The flight was arriving at the Yeadon airport from Corfu amid a weather warning sparked by Storm Babet.
A spokesperson for Leeds Bradford Airport said: “We can confirm TUI flight TOM3551 arriving from Corfu at LBA this afternoon has moved off the runway whilst landing.
"We are working with the airline, relevant operations teams, and emergency authorities to address this situation and remove passengers from the aircraft safely.”
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said: "We are in attendance at an incident at Aircraft Ground Incident at Leeds Bradford Airport, in conjunction with other emergency services.
"At this time, there are no reported injuries or fires. West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service command unit has now been stood down, and remaining crews are now assisting in evacuating all persons from the aircraft to the terminal."
A TUI spokesperson said: "We are aware of an incident at Leeds Bradford Airport this afternoon, in which upon landing flight TOM3551 slightly veered off while turning into the taxiway.
"There are no reported injuries, and our ground team are on hand to support passengers as they disembark."
Two people who were at the LBA viewing point saw the incident unfold.
A man said that there appeared to be challenging landing conditions, but the plane looked to have landed okay.
He said a siren then went off at the airport - something he had never heard before.
This was followed by a massive emergency services response.
