Ryanair pilots’ heavy fog landings ‘genuine errors’

AN official investigation is set to clear Ryanair pilots of any wrongdoing over an incident in which several aircraft operated by the Irish airline landed at Stansted Airport in heavy fog in breach of safety limits last year.

The vast majority of flights bound for Stansted on the evening of April 24, 2006 diverted to other airports in the London area, after poor visibility warnings from air traffic controllers.

However, several Ryanair aircraft chose to ignore warnings that fog surrounding Stansted meant visibility at the airport was below the minimum recommendations for a safe landing.