BA flight 'lands short of Heathrow runway'

Passengers had to be led to safety today after a British Airways plane flying in from China reportedly landed short of the runway at the UK’s biggest airport.

BA said there had been “an incident” at Heathrow involving flight BA38 from Beijing but would give no further details.

The incident happened as Prime Minister Gordon Brown was due to leave Heathrow for China and India. His flight was delayed because of the incident, but his jet was not involved directly.

Witnesses said around six fire engines were at the scene of the incident. The aircraft’s emergency chute appeared to have been deployed.

Eyewitness Neil Jones, who has a general aviation pilot's licence, said he had seen the plane making a "very, very unusual approach" to Heathrow.

Speaking to BBC24, Mr Jones went on: “The engine noise sounded louder than normal and it was that that first attracted my attention.

“The aircraft was banking to the left and it was coming in very low over the surrounding houses. The plane was significantly lower than it would normally be.”

Mr Jones added: “I could see the undercarriage was down and the wing flaps were down. I don’t know how many engines were working.

“You could see the pilot was desperate, trying to get the plane down. The aircraft hit the grass and there was a lot of dirt. The pilot was struggling to keep the plane straight. I think he did a great job.”

MP for Hayes and Harlington, which includes Heathrow Airport, said: "This incident demonstrates the risk of a further runway at Heathrow to the safety of local communities and London.

“Nobody planning an airport today would even consider the expansion of an airport so close to the largest centre of population in this country. This incident highlights the safety reasons for halting Heathrow expansion.”