A Heathrow-bound British Airways flight from Belfast City was forced to land at the Belfast International Airport moments after its take-off.
The plane had to be diverted on Tuesday night as a precautionary measure after the pilot declared an emergency.
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The 108 passengers on board witnessed the plane circle the international airport before landing safely.
Belfast International Airport operations director Alan Whiteside was quoted by BBC as saying: "Everything went smoothly, our own police and fire service on site here responded, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, the PSNI, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service all attended as a routine.
"But nobody was required to take any other action – the aircraft landed safely thankfully."
One of the passengers Justin Hames said that they heard a bang as the wheels were going up. The crew informed them later that there was ‘a small problem with the engine’.
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By GlobalDataA British Airways spokeswoman said: "Cabin crew are now looking after our customers and they will be offered hotel accommodation and rebooked onto flights tomorrow."
Earlier this week, a Boeing 737 of British Airways crash landed at Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport after a part of its landing gear broke off.
The flight is owned and operated by South Africa-based franchise Comair.
The 94 passengers onboard were safely evacuated using the emergency staircase.
In September, there were two such incidents where British Airways flights faced emergencies situations. A plane preparing to take off from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas was evacuated after an engine caught fire.
Two days after the Las Vegas incident, a Washington to London service declared a ‘full emergency’ and the pilot asked for a priority landing at Heathrow.
Image: A British Airways plane. Photo: courtesy of British Airways.
