A TUI holiday jet with 178 passengers and eight crew on board was forced to return to Manchester Airport after the plane's tail struck the runway on take-off, a report reveals.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report revealed a trainee co-pilot 'rotated the aircraft too rapidly'. It said he 'experienced several delays during his training, which would have made it harder to learn the correct technique' - said to have been down to 'public health restrictions' as part of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cabin crew reported hearing 'a very big bang' and the flight to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands returned immediately to the airport in March. The Boing 737 - which was being flown by the co-pilot at the time as part of a 'training flight' - touched down without event, said the now-published report.
