News / Sumburgh bound flight in emergency landing
A FULL scale emergency was declared at Kirkwall airport on Tuesday morning after a Loganair flight bound for Sumburgh reported a “technical issue”.
Police, fire and ambulance services had just arrived at the airport when the Saab340 with 25 passengers on board landed safely. The Kirkwall lifeboat was also launched as a precaution.
A spokesman for Loganair said the plane had been on its approach to Sumburgh when the problem was discovered.
“The problem was with the airframe’s de-ice system that affected the aircraft’s landing performance.
“This was why the pilot opted to divert to an airport with a longer runway than Sumburgh.
“Aberdeen was his first choice but the weather there deteriorated so he then decided to go to Kirkwall,” the spokesman said.
A replacement aircraft from Glasgow took the stranded passengers to Sumburgh where they arrived at 1pm.
One of the passengers inconvenienced by the unplanned stopover in Kirkwall was the Met Office’s operations director Rob Varley, who was scheduled to conduct the official opening of the agency’s new offices in Lerwick.
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