Panic at London Stansted.......Shortly after 8pm on Friday, March 1st an Airbus A320 of Ryanair's Austrian based Laudamotion was trundling down the runway at London Stansted when a loud big bang boomed around the cabin, the takeoff was abandoned and a full-scale evacuation called for.
During the scramble down emergency slides and the ensuing panic at least eight passengers were injured and many others left in a state of shock. While others took to social media to document the terrifying event others merely counted their blessings for only having minor scrapes and abrasions.
The runway at London Stansted was closed for around three hours causing many flights to be delayed and diverted. The airport said around three hours after the aborted take off that the aircraft had been moved off the runway, an inspection the surface had taken place before the management allowed the runway to be fully reopened.
#UPDATE Our runway has now re-opened and is fully operational.We are extremely sorry for the disruption caused by the incident, but our first priority is always the safety of passengers and staff. pic.twitter.com/OF9ikovNX6
— London Stansted Airport (@STN_Airport) 1 March 2019
The aircraft was performing a flight to its home base of Vienna when according to passengers, there was a loud bang after around 15 seconds of acceleration and then the aircraft skidded to a halt. Thomas Steer one of those on the flight said there was a "big bang on the side of the aircraft which skidded to a stop". The Essex based 24-year-old added, "It was scary. And then staff shouting 'evacuate evacuate'. We "Opened the emergency exit and we slid down the slides, a few old people fell over and the fire brigade treated them."
Another passenger mentioned that after the flight stopped, "They opened the doors. The emergency slide opened and I jumped on." Speaking to the media the passenger also said that she had flown with Lauda before, and was not sure she would again.
Anja Kohlfurst said passengers panicked as staff screamed 'evacuate' and 'jump', she told the media, "They were just screaming evacuate and jump and pushing people to the slides." Adding that "After sliding out, we were just standing on the field and everyone was panicking."
Another passenger wrote on social media, "Mid take off at Stansted, our plane had a huge bang, skidded to a stop and all had to evacuate down the slides, with my friend opening the emergency door. A scary experience for sure."
Other passengers have criticised the inexperienced cabin crew who they claim panicked and made the situation worse and more dangerous by pushing people in the aisles and down the emergency slides.
Videos shared on social media show the emergency services arriving at the aircraft as the passengers evacuating the aircraft down emergency slides into the relatively dark night.
At 10pm last night the airline issued a brief statement "The crew of OE flight from Stansted to Vienna(1.3.) decided to abort the takeoff due to engine issues and to disembark the passengers on the runway as a precautionary measure. Passengers were transferred to the terminal by bus and will be reaccommodated onto a replacement flight." The airline has refused to comment further on the issue.
The UK's Air Accident Investigation Branch has confirmed it was 'sending a team to Stansted Airport to investigate an aircraft incident involving an Airbus A320.'
