Boeing aircraft suffered 'catastrophic failure' when TUI flight skidded off runway in crash at Leeds airport during Storm Babet, report finds

A Boeing aircraft suffered 'catastrophic failure' when a TUI flight skidded off the runway in a crash at Leeds airport during storm Babet, a report has found.

The flight, that was carrying over 200 passengers from Corfu last year was attempting to land at the airport in strong winds when the Boeing 737-800 slipped off the tarmac and was left stranded on the grass.

The airport's emergency siren is understood to have activated when the aircraft careered off the runway upon landing at around 1.53pm BST. Witnesses described it as a 'hard landing'.

But in a new report, investigators claimed one of the passenger jet's nosewheel bearings had suffered a catastrophic failure which was likely to have happened during the final phase of landing, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found.

As the jet began to move to the left, the crew on board reported feeling a significant shake, but the full range of rudder application was not used to correct the drift, according to the AAIB's report.

The crew had attempted to regain control of the plane as the aircraft edged towards the outskirts of the runway, but they were unable to bring it under control.

The plane left the runway at a ground speed of around 63mph, coming to a stop six seconds later in muddy ground, approximately 500ft beyond the taxiway. 

Following investigations, the AAIB found there were 'no mechanical impediment' to prevent the jet taking off from the runway earlier, but that the crew's job was made significantly more difficult by 'nosewheel juddering'.

'There was no mechanical defect identified by the investigation which would have prevented the crew from applying the additional right rudder that was available to keep the aircraft on the runway,' the AAIB said.

'However, the crew's actions may have been influenced by the nosewheel juddering'.

As the runway was wet, there is no evidence that suggests the aircraft skidded at any point, the AAIB investigation concluded.

A spokesperson for Leeds Bradford airport said: 'Our safety and compliance team worked closely with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch following the incident in October last year.

'While supporting the AAIB, we also took the opportunity to conduct our own internal investigation to review our emergency response processes and procedures.

'We were satisfied that the conclusions presented in the AAIB bulletin issued on 24 October and the outcomes reached in relation to the airport mirrored the outcomes of our own investigation.'

Malcolm Fell, who was on the flight, described the incident at the time as 'a little bit dramatic' but everyone onboard was 'quite calm'.

Recalling his experience, he said: 'The plane came down and the pilot applied reverse thrust on the brakes and it started to aquaplain,' adding 'it seemed to speed up rather than slow down'. 

'My wife, [who] was sat next to me, turned to me and said I think you better brace yourself because this is not going to stop.

'And then all of a sudden...we were at a standstill on the grass,' he said.

Passenger Mr Fell said the left side of the plane was 'covered in mud' following the landing.

'Everybody was quite calm, there was no screaming or drama or anything like that.

'It took us about an hour to get us off the plane because the emergency services kicked in to make sure that the plane was secure before they evacuated us.'

He added: 'Great thanks to the airport - they worked really well to get people off the plane.'

Footage showed the plane being quickly surrounded by emergency vehicles, including three ambulances, as they worked to try and evacuate passengers.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said there were no reported injuries and no fire. But all flights in and out of Leeds Bradford Airport were temporarily halted with some arrivals diverted to other airports including Manchester.