Belfast International Airport - Accidents and Incidents

Accidents and Incidents

• On 24 March 1996, Vickers Viscount G-OPFE of British World Airways was damaged beyond economic repair when it made a wheels-up landing.

• On 23 December 1997, a Maersk Air, Boeing 737 aircraft operated by British Airways and with 63 passengers and 6 crew on board was forced to return to the airport after a major failure in the starboard engine. The pilot was forced to declare an emergency and the aircraft thereafter returned to the airport safely on one engine. It was later found that an engine seal had failed causing the catastrophic failure of the starboard engine and slight damage to the engine cowling and under wing surface. The subsequent investigation uncovered design and manufacturing defects with the seals and led to the incorporation of new design seals in all future engines.

• On 31 October 2010, a bomb was found inside a Toyota Carina parked in the long-stay car park. Army bomb experts dismantled the bomb, however it is believed it failed to explode due to a possibility it had been in the car park since 2009, it was only discovered when workers were getting ready to tow the vehicle out of the car park. Many passengers had to spend the night in hotels or arrange alternative transport home as they were unable to get to their cars.

• On 7 February 2012, a Thomas Cook Airbus A320 had to make an emergency landing. It took off and immediately after pilots realised there was a problem. The plane was bound for Tenerife South Airport. The pilots realised the landing gear wouldn't retract so they burnt fuel over Lough Neagh. It circled for 1 hour and 30 minutes then landed safely on runway 25 at 11.30. There were no injuries and all got on a replacement flight later that afternoon.