Liverpool plane returns after fire scare

05/01/2010

By Sam Lock.

An aircraft has made an emergency landing at Liverpool John Lennon Airport after a suspected fire.

The Ryanair service from the Merseyside hub to Agadir in Morocco turned back 30 minutes after take off yesterday (January 4th) after the pilot was alerted to a fire on board the aircraft.

Emergency services were alerted before the plane returned to Liverpool and its 116 passengers and six crew were evacuated via inflatable chutes.

A Ryanair spokesperson said: "Flight FR4021 from Liverpool to Agadir returned to Liverpool shortly after take off as a precaution when a fire indicator light was activated.

"Ryanair engineers have confirmed that there was no fire and a faulty indicator light is the suspected cause of this turnback."

The emergency caused the airport to close for one hour, re-opening at around 17:00 GMT.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport is currently advising all travellers to check the status of their flights directly with their airlines due to poor conditions following heavy snowfall in the north-west and across the UK.