Passenger jet slides off runway

Dec 23 2009

A passenger jet has slid off a runway after hitting a patch of ice.

The Ryanair plane skidded on to the grass moments after landing at Prestwick airport in Ayrshire, just after 9am on Wednesday.

No-one was injured in the incident, police said.

A Strathclyde Police spokesman said: "It happened just after 9am as it landed. It slipped on to the grass. No-one was injured and all the passengers have been taken to the terminal."

An airport spokesman said the plane was an incoming Ryanair flight.

He said: "All I know at the moment is that after it landed it hit a patch of ice after completing its landing."

Alex Paton, a passenger on the plane, told the BBC: "Everyone was pretty shocked. I don't think most people realised we were in a field.

"It wasn't until we were off that we realised how deep the wheels had gone into the field. Don't get me wrong, it didn't go into the field that long before it stopped.

"It was almost like the back end of the plane slid out a bit."

He added: "I think the original plan was to pull the plane out of the field but, when you see it, there's no way you're pulling that plane out easily."