Plane makes emergency landing after tyre bursts on take off

A plane with 76 passengers on board was forced to make an emergency landing at Birmingham Airport when a tyre burst after take off.

The Flybe flight 1274 from Amsterdam to Manchester was forced to ground early after passengers alerted cabin crew.

Birmingham Airport was closed for half an hour from 15:25 BST due to the incident, a spokeswoman said.

No-one was injured but flights were delayed on the ground and in the air while safety checks were carried out.

Passenger Suhail Ahmed-Qadri, from Manchester, said he and others on board felt "a big shudder" shortly after the plane took off.

"We looked out of the window and could see the tyre of the plane had burst," he said.

"It hadn't gone back up into the undercarriage. We called over one of the cabin crew who couldn't believe it. She informed the captain who made an announcement.

"We had to circle Birmingham Airport for about an hour to burn fuel before we could land. The runway was shut because of the emergency landing and we could see ambulances and emergency services crews and their flashing lights from up in the sky.

"It was a scary experience and I have mixed feelings about it. A couple behind me were very upset and were crying and hugging. I thought we would make it and that we would be OK."

A Flybe spokesman apologised to passengers for the inconvenience, and said the decision to redirect the flight was taken "as a precautionary measure, to take into consideration more favourable wind conditions".

The company also confirmed passengers would be taken by bus from Birmingham to Manchester.