News / Faulty warning light sparked major alert
OIL charter flight operators Eastern Airways revealed on Thursday a faulty warning light had sparked the biggest emergency call out Shetland has seen for some time.
Police, fire, ambulance, coastguard and lifeboat teams went into action at 5.10pm on Wednesday after the pilot of the Saab 2000 with 35 people on board issued a Mayday 20 minutes after taking off from Sumburgh airport for Aberdeen.
A quarter of an hour later the plane landed safely back at Sumburgh after turning around in mid flight and all 32 oil workers and three crew left the plane.
The emergency services, which included three auxiliary coastguard teams from Lerwick, Noness and Sumburgh, as well as the coastguard search and rescue helicopter 102 and the Lerwick lifeboat were stood down.
An Eastern Airways spokesman said on Thursday that the Mayday had been declared as a precaution after the warning light went off in the cockpit.
“The 32 affected passengers were later flown to Aberdeen on another aircraft, arriving at 9pm local time,” he said.
“We apologise to customers for the inconvenience experienced, however the safety of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance and we will not operate an aircraft with a technical-related fault until the problem has been rectified.”
A coastguard spokeswoman said that they has launched the lifeboat and scrambled the helicopter in case the plane ditched in the sea on its way back to Sumburgh.
“Had they gone into the sea then the lifeboat would have been needed to rescue people from the water and because it was down in Sumburgh it was best to get them going sooner than later because it takes half and hour to 45 minutes to get down there.
“Likewise with the helicopter, if people had gone into the water it would have been at the scene looking for people.”
Become a supporter of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider start paying for their dose of the latest local news delivered straight to their PC, tablet or mobile phone.
Journalism comes at a price and because that price is not being paid in today’s rapidly changing media world, most publishers - national and local - struggle financially despite very healthy audience figures.
Most online publishers have started charging for access to their websites, others have chosen a different route. Shetland News currently has over 600 supporters who are all making small voluntary financial contributions. All funds go towards covering our cost and improving the service further.
Your contribution will ensure Shetland News can: -
- Bring you the headlines as they happen;
- Stay editorially independent;
- Give a voice to the community;
- Grow site traffic further;
- Research and publish more in-depth news, including more Shetland Lives features.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a supporter of Shetland News by either making a single payment or monthly subscription.
Support us from as little as £3 per month – it only takes a minute to sign up. Thank you.
Already a supporter? Sign in to hide this message.
