Ryanair passengers made an emergency landing in France when they plummeted 35,000ft in just seven minutes. They prayed for their safety as the cabin was filled with smoke.
Flight FR4052 took off from Manchester at 6.33pm on Monday headed for Faro, southern Portugal, where it was expected to land at around 9.30pm.
Just over an hour after the start of their flight, the pilots on the Boeing 737-8AS plane made a rapid descent from 41,000ft down to 7,000ft as they flew over the English Channel.
Participants onboard joked that the ride was “better than Alton Towers” after returning to safety on land. Brest, Northern France
After landing at 7.30 pm, the plane was evacuated by police and fire engines.
France had strict Covid quarantine rules regarding Britons landing in France. However, passengers were permitted to board another plane and continue to Portugal shortly thereafter.
Ryanair’s Boeing 737-8AS plane touched down in Brest. It was met by several fire trucks.
According to flight tracking software, the plane experienced a rapid descent from 41,000ft up to 6,725ft within seven minutes. It was recorded between 7.14pm and 7.21pm. There were concerns that cabin pressure could have been lost.
Patricia Smith was on the flight as one of the few remaining passengers.
According to flight analysis websites, she said she had’said Lord’s Prayer’ on the emergency landing. It dropped thousands of feet in just minutes.
“The crew was first-class,” she said. Pilots were calm and gave clear instructions regarding procedures and brace positions.
Although all the passengers kept calm as the plane began to descend to the ground, I did have to recite the Lord’s Prayer.
‘Nobody moved. The brace position was practiced by everyone. Although it sounds strange, you might have heard the pin drop.
“It was frightening, but it wasn’t scary for passengers. They were able to remain calm afterward and laugh with each other.
“There was British spirit after we made the quick descent. The joke was that the bar had to be raised and it was “better than Alton Towers”‘s black hole ride.
“Thankfully there weren’t young children that would have been as terrified as I was. Ryanair was an industry credit.
The police escorted the passengers to a bus, which took them to the terminal.
Flying FR4052 left Manchester at 6:33 on Monday and headed towards Faro, Portugal. It was due to arrive there at 9.30pm. Flightradar’s flight tracker indicates that the aircraft made an unscheduled landing in Brest (France).
According to France plane spotters (France), the pilots began the descent at 35,000 feet after a fire broke out in the cockpit.
The passengers were asked to wait for between 15 and 20 minutes after landing before being taken into the terminal.
They were then transferred to a new London flight, arriving in Faro for their final destination.
Following its landing at 8.30pm, the Boeing-747 plane was taken on the runway.
Ryanair later confirmed that the problem was technical and caused smoke to enter the cabin.
Ryanair spokesperson stated that: “This flight from Manchester, Faro to Faro was diverted to Brest Airport due to a minor technical problem which created an unidentified smoke smell inside the cabin.”
“Passengers debarked as normal from the aircraft and were transferred to Brest Airport where they were given refreshments.”
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