A TUI plane was forced to return to Manchester Airport in "emergency mode" after its tail hit the runway.
The fully booked TOM 2384 flight to Fuerteventura was taking off around 8.30am on March 9 when the tail "contacted the runway surface". The incident is described as a "tail strike" and the Boeing 737-800 was forced to stop its ascent at 10,000ft - as Manchester Evening News reports.
The pilot had to burn off fuel by flying around the Lake District before it safely returned to Manchester Airport, 45 minutes after departure. Passengers boarded a new aircraft seven hours later and a spokeswoman from the aircraft company branded the return landing as "precautionary".
