A RYANAIR aircraft suffered significant damage at Rome's Ciampino airport yesterday when it flew into a flock of birds as it was preparing to land. The impact caused serious damage to the aircraft's engines, causing a rough landing.
The Boeing 737's undercarriage was so badly damaged that the aircraft ended up lopsided on the runway, with one of its engines resting on the ground.
Shortly after landing, passengers were evacuated from the aircraft via the escape chutes. All 166 passengers and six crew members were able to disembark safely, although seven people were treated for minor bumps and bruises.
The incident, which happened on a Frankfurt-Rome flight just before 8am, forced the virtual closure of the airport for the rest of the day. It was only late yesterday afternoon that the stranded Ryanair aircraft was moved.
Incoming flights were diverted to Rome's main international airport, Fiumicino, while all Ryanair flights out of Ciampino for the rest of the day were cancelled. The information desks at Ciampino were overrun by weary travellers trying to book other flights.
One passenger on the flight, Sicilian painter Gaetano De Caro, told reporters afterwards that he and his fellow passengers had gone through five minutes of "panic" but that the pilot's skill had saved the day.
"We were coming in to land and all of a sudden there was this burning smell. Then we bumped on to the runway and that gave us a big fright, but the pilot did really well. I have to say thank you to him because he saved our lives.
"If someone else had been at the wheel we would all be dead now because we were getting close to that wall at the end of the runway. All the staff did a really good job."
The incident prompted a critical response from the mayor of Ciampino, Walter Perandini, who on national radio claimed that the aircraft had skidded off the runway as it landed.
He said: "We have to institute an immediate check on the overall safety status of the airport and surrounding area. This was a very serious episode. I've been saying for years that the Ciampino runway is too short for low-cost flights. What is more, it is just 150 metres from houses and 100 metres from a busy road."
A spokesperson for Ryanair last night contradicted Mr Perandini, pointing out that the aircraft had at no point left the runway.
Media reports, passengers and ANSV, the Italian flight safety authority, all partially confirmed Ryanair's version of the crash, However, they reported that the aircraft had landed "long" and had overshot its landing runway.