Teesside Airport closes in Crash Aftermath
Teesside International Airport will be closed until Monday after an accident which has left three people in hospital. The incident occurred shortly after 9.30am on Saturday.
Staff at the airport told Teesside Live that it is “indefinitely closed”, while a statement on the airport’s website reads: “We can confirm an incident occurred today involving a light aircraft at 9.39am.
Onboard the crashed airplane was a pilot and two passengers, and they have been promptly taken to a hospital. “We would like to thank the emergency services, on site staff for their quick response,” said the airport’s statement.
It appears from the images taken by the Teesside Live lens that the plane was completely destroyed.
The plane has been destroyed https://t.co/iaF2Tef0PF
— Teesside Live (@TeessideLive) September 25, 2021
In an updated statement, a spokesperson for Teesside Airport said: “Following an incident involving a light aircraft this morning (Saturday), we will remain closed for the weekend so the Air Accident Investigation Branch can carry out a thorough investigation. We are hopeful the airport will reopen on Monday 27 September.
“As a result of this closure, Loganair will be contacting customers affected with details on how to claim a full refund or rebook an alternative date. They request that customers do not phone Loganair at this time,” he added.
He continued to express regret on behalf of the airport: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank all of our passengers who have been very understanding today. All of our thoughts and prayers are with the three people onboard at the time of the incident and their families.”
Due to the closure, Newcastle International Airport has confirmed its “likely” taking over four flights, due to land at Teesside, as long as the runway remains closed>
These are expected to be the impacted flights:
FR3518 Faro scheduled 1140
FR5987 Palma scheduled 1550
LOG817 Farnborough scheduled 1725
T3793 Jersey scheduled 1900
Newcastle’s airport stressed that these flights will not have an impact on any arriving or departing flights.
Eyewitnesses
Teesside Live reported some witnesses accounts from those who happened to see the plane crash. One of them told the site that he heard a sputtering engine and raised his eyes to see the plane veer left very sharply. The engine seemed to have stopped completely.
Another stated that the impact did not result in an explosion or fire, adding that he immediately called the emergency services, who arrived at the site about 20 or 30 minutes later. A witness also said that the plane rose about 90 meters before it crashed.
Source: Teesside Live
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