Speed blamed after plane careers off Birmingham Airport runway

Passengers described being thrown out of their seats as the Boeing 737 travelling from France made its landing in wet conditions.

The tyres and wheels of the plane were damaged, flights were suspended for two hours and a bus had to be sent out to retrieve the passengers and six crew members on board.

An Air Accident Investigation Branch report has now concluded that the plane was travelling at more than twice the speed for the manoeuvre at the time.

The report said the 45-year-old commander of the flight had been keen to leave the runway because he did not want to get in the way of another flight behind. The plane was travelling above 20knots. Guidelines say planes should be travelling no faster than 10knots when taxiing in the dry.

The report states:?"Initially the aircraft responded as expected but as the turn progressed the aircraft became uncontrollable and started to skid towards the edge of the taxiway.

"The commander applied the brake pedals fully but the aircraft departed the taxiway onto adjacent grass and stopped."

There were no injuries among the passengers on the 25-year-old jet, Monarch flight ZB467 from Nice. Flights were suspended after the drama in September as the airport waited for heavy lifting gear to move the plane.

The Boeing 737 was operated by Lithuanian firm Aurela Airlines. It was the same 737 which left 150 people stranded in Tenerife in August last year when a door broke.

Michelle Doyle of Staffordshire was on the flight returning to Birmingham with her partner John after a holiday in France. She described being thrown from her seat and the bumpy sensation as the plane left the runway.

Monarch spokesman Russell Ison said: "Monarch terminated the contract with Air Aurela immediately after the incident at Birmingham Airport. Monarch is considering the contents of the AAIB report before deciding what action may need to be taken."