Plane Evacuated At Southampton Airport

10 November 2014, 12:03 | Updated: 10 November 2014, 12:07

Flights at Southampton airport were temporarily suspended after smoke was seen billowing from a plane as it taxied along the runway.

The 76 passengers and four crew on board the Flybe flight from Southampton to Guernsey were evacuated from the plane and transferred to another aircraft following the incident at about 1.15pm on Sunday 9 November, a Flybe spokeswoman said.

Southampton Airport suspended flights for about two hours and warned passengers to check for knock-on delays once operations were up and running.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had been called to a fire in the left undercarriage of the plane but only sent one appliance after receiving a call from the airport saying the incident had been downgraded and their own fire service crews were dealing with it.

Flybe spokesman Andrew McConnell said the flight had experienced a ``technical fault'' shortly before departure.

He said the aircraft had returned to its departure stand where it was inspected by engineers.

He said: ``The emergency services attended as a routine and precautionary measure only.

``Flybe operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers' guidelines.

``The safety of its passengers and crew is Flybe's highest priority.''