Plane is towed after fume alert

Tuesday 11th September 2007, 12:00AM BST.

A FLYBE plane had to be towed off the runway this morning after a warning light in the cockpit suggested that fumes were coming from the baggage hold.

Seventy-four passengers were on board the flight en route from Birmingham via Guernsey to Jersey. A local standby was declared at the Airport just before 8 am. Steve Reed, Jersey Airport’s assistant director, said: ‘An amber alert was declared and the States Fire Service were marshalled. It was thought that a fire extinguisher went off in the hold of the aircraft but it was a false alarm.’ The captain of the Flybe plane had called Jersey Airport’s control room after leaving Guernsey to report a problem. The aircraft landed safely but was towed off the runway as a matter of precaution. This caused a knock-on effect to other flights which were delayed for a short time.

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