10 people in hospital after bird strikes cause emergency landing

10 PEOPLE were taken to hospital after a Ryanair flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Rome early yesterday morning.

Eight passengers and two members of the cabin crew were taken to a local hospital after receiving minor injuries in the incident at Ciampino airport, about 15km south-east of the Italian capital.

Ryanair said flight FR4102 from Frankfurt with 166 passengers on board suffered multiple bird strikes, which caused engine problems as it prepared to land. “The left-hand main landing gear was damaged on landing, and is delaying the aircraft from being removed from the runway,” said a Ryanair statement.

The incident forced the closure of the airport, which is used by low cost carriers and is also a military and VIP airport, for the remainder of the day. The airline cancelled 24 inbound and outbound flights.

One passenger said smoke could be seen coming out of the engine as it prepared to land at Ciampino Airport.

“The masks were coming out. People were crying, it was terrible,” he said.

Another passenger expressed relief that all the passengers were safe following the incident.

“Thank God we are all here because it was a bad experience,” he said.

Passengers were evacuated via emergency chutes after the aircraft came to rest on the runway with the left-hand engine resting on the tarmac. Firefighters then covered the aircraft and the surrounding area in fire retardant foam.

The airline provided refreshments and assistance following the incident but passengers were forced to wait until after 4pm yesterday before luggage was allowed to be removed from the damaged aircraft.

This is the fifth such incident of a bird strike affecting a Ryanair flight since May of this year.

Last night, the aircraft was being examined by Ryanair engineers and the Italian Aviation Authority. Twelve of the Ryanair flights were diverted to Rome’s other airport, Fiumicino.

However, Ryanair confirmed the handling company at the airport, Flightcare-Italia, did not have the capacity to handle any further outbound flights and the airline was forced to cancel a further 24 flights.

“Ryanair sincerely apologises to all passengers affected by this disruption,” a spokeswoman added.

Ryanair advised customers who were booked on the cancelled flights that they could re-book their flights free of charge, subject to availability. Alternatively, customers could apply for a full refund via the airline’s website.