* Ryanair * Ryanair * Ryanair *

Red Sleeping Beauty

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0216/1233867938402.html
http://www.limerickpost.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=413:emergency-landing-for-ryanair-jet-at-shannon&catid=37:local-news&Itemid=60

Irish Times wrote:

Emergency crews put on standby for Ryanair flight

A RYANAIR flight from Birmingham declared an emergency prior to landing at Shannon airport yesterday amid fears that a tyre in the rear undercarriage had been damaged during take-off.


Flight 1313, which left Birmingham at 2.50pm on its scheduled service to Shannon, was carrying 177 passengers and crew. The aircraft carried out a low-level fly past over the airport’s main runway so that fire crews on the ground could visually inspect the landing gear as the aircraft flew past.

After nothing unusual was observed in the undercarriage, air traffic controllers contacted the pilot and advised him that he could land. The jet touched down safely just minutes later under the watchful eyes of crash crews.

The alarm was raised after ground crews at Birmingham discovered rubber debris on the runway after the Ryanair Boeing 737-800 jet had departed for Shannon. Air traffic control in Birmingham contacted the crew of the Ryanair flight to notify it of the discovery.

As the flight began its descent into Shannon, the captain notified controllers at the airport of the potential problem and requested that emergency services be placed on standby.

Units of the fire brigade from Shannon and Ennis, along with ambulances from Limerick and Ennis, were scrambled to the airport in support of the airport’s own fire and rescue service.

A Ryanair spokesperson said last night: “A piece of rubber was discovered on the runway at Birmingham airport. Air traffic control in Birmingham notified the crew of the discovery and as a precaution, the pilot asked the emergency crews be put on standby at Shannon. The aircraft landed without incident.”

Limerick Post wrote:

Emergency landing for Ryanair jet at Shannon

Written by Andrew Carey
Monday, 16 February 2009 09:27

Shannon Airport emergency services were called to alert on Sunday afternoon last when one of Michael O'Leary's Ryanair planes was forced to make an emergency landing at the county Clare airport following a report from the flight deck of problems with a tyre.

On route from the UK, the pilot made contact with Shannon to say it had a tyre problem, shortly before 4pm in the afternoon.

The plane operated a circling pattern above the airport at a safe distance and landed 15 minutes after notifying the emergency services.

The plane was carrying 177 passengers and crew and no injuries have been reported.

The Shannon Airport Authority reported that the plane carried out a low-level fly past over the main runway at Shannon so that fire crews on the ground could visually inspect the landing gear as the aircraft flew past.

The fire crews had nothing to report so the aircraft was cleared for landing with no further incident.

zuroph

from other news thing i got that they found rubber debris on the runway after our takeoff. now, do they inspect the runway after every takeoff? seems odd, especially since takeoff qas quite rough. but yeah, he landed the plane in a "wheelie" for as long as possible before touching down the front landing gear.
glad its all over TBH, scared me stiff.

zoos

Hi I know you have to pay 100 euro to change a name on a ryan air flight, but I was just wondering my boyfriend cant go to paris with me anymore and so my friend wants to come instead, does it cost 100 each way or would that cover the return cost? We're just going for a weekend.

lynchie

zoos wrote: »

Hi I know you have to pay 100 euro to change a name on a ryan air flight, but I was just wondering my boyfriend cant go to paris with me anymore and so my friend wants to come instead, does it cost 100 each way or would that cover the return cost? We're just going for a weekend.

Its €100 per name change per itinerary. If your itinerary contains both outbound and return legs, then it will only cost 100.

eth0_

zuroph wrote: »

do they inspect the runway after every takeoff?

Not after *every* takeoff but they do inspect it very regularly. A foreign object on the runway could be potentially catastrophic.

zuroph

very interesting account from another passenger who was at the front of the plane and was aware of a problem long before everyone else...
posted from another forum...

I wasn't planning on doing a trip report for this flight as I assumed it would be a run of the mill Ryanair flight. Little did I know. For this reason, there are no pics and the details of the flight may be a little sketchy. However, I thought you'd all be interested to hear my story of an emergency landing in Shannon. Here goes.......

FR1313 BHX-SNN
STD: 14:50
ATD: Around 15:15
STA: 16:00
ATA: Around 16:45

I was the first on board the flight. I had purchased priority boarding as I knew the flight was full and because FR have just reduced the price to €2 each way. Because of this, I was able to get my favourite seat, 1A. Front row window. You have loads of room and are always off first so it's fab. The flight was nearly full with 171 PAX plus the usual 4 cabin crew and 2 cockpit crew.

It took ages for everyone to board as the flight was so full. Also, the aircraft had arrived a little late from SNN so we ended up pushing back about 25 minutes late. We taxied to the runway and took off as normal. The captain released the cabin crew after about 5 minutes and they started to prepare the bar service. While they were doing this, the captain rang the cabin crew. The lead FA answered and started sniffing the air. She said "I wasn't at the front for takeoff so I don't know. Now you mention it, I can smell something. I'll ask the FA who was at the front whether she smelt anything on takeoff". At this point, I knew something was wrong. There's only one thing that the captain wants to know if the cabin crew can smell and it's not that the first officer has farted Wink. The FA who sat at the front of the cabin went in to the cockpit for a few minutes and, when she came out, the lead FA phoned the rear galley and told them not to start the bar service. I immediately assumed we'd be going back to BHX or diverting to DUB but we kept climbing. I was pretty nervous at this point because I didn't like the thought that the captain could smell burning but was continuing with the flight but there was little I could do.

The crew began to count the bar and duty free items as it was their last flight of the day and they were not doing a cabin service. I have to say at this point that no announcements were made and the seatbelt sign was not switched off. Apart from me, nobody realised that anything was amiss at all. This didn't do anything for my heart rate but was good because nobody else was panicking.

We began our descent around 20 minutes before landing as usual and I thought that the ordeal was soon to be over. The FA who had sat at the front for takeoff was called back into the cockpit and shortly after she came out, the cabin crew had a meeting in the forward galley. After they had finished this, the male FA who was sat opposite me looked white. He was sh**ting himself to be honest!

The captain came on with "Cabin crew 10 minutes" but did not say "to landing". We then continued the descent as normal and the captain said "cabin crew, take your seats" but again did not add "for landing". I was so relieved to see us flying the normal approach to runway 24 at SNN and to see the slats come down and hear the landing gear being extended.

We came in over the business park as usual and I noticed fire engines at the side of the runway as I was expecting. However, when we reached about 100 feet, the captain gunned the engines and we went around. I was really panicking at this point as I still thought he could simply smell smoke so couldn't work out why on earth he would abort what seemed to be a perfectly normal landing.

We climbed away from SNN and the slats went up but the landing gear did not. I thought this was pretty odd but had to just assume (or hope!) that the guys in the cockpit knew what they were doing. I asked the FA in front of me if she was expecting the go-around and she said "Yes".

The captain then finally came on the PA and told us that they had some issues with lights in the cockpit. He said we would fly around for a bit while they worked out what was wrong and keep us informed. This was the first indication that the rest of the passengers had that anything was amiss. I knew this excuse was rubbish as they'd been aware of a problem since shortly after takeoff but I assumed that it was the best way of not panicking everybody.

A few minutes later, the captain came back on the PA and said that there may be a problem with one of the tyres so we were going to come in for a full stop landing in SNN. I then realised why we had gone around. The captain wanted the tower and fire service to have a look at the landing gear. This also explained why we didn't go back to BHX or divert to DUB. The captain then rang the cabin crew and gave final instructions. I heard the female FA in front of me say "Right. On your command". I asked her if we were going to be evacuating using the slides and she said "Hopefully not"!

Our second approach was exactly like the first except that everyone was now pretty nervous. Around 500 feet above the ground, the captain came on the PA and said "Brace brace". The cabin crew then started yelling "Brace brace brace brace........". The last few seconds of that flight were the longest of my life. I kept planning what I was going to do when we evacuated and I was fully ready to take my seatbelt off as soon as I heard the command.

We touched down incredibly smoothly and the reverse thrust kicked in but the pilot (I assume the captain landed it) did not use the brakes. Presumably, this was to avoid causing even more overheating if one tyre had actually burst. Landing with your head between your knees is the strangest sensation ever as you have no visual reference of where you are or how fast you're going. It felt like we weren't slowing down at all and I was fully ready for us to go off the end of the runway.

As soon as the FAs stopped shouting "Brace", I lifted my head to see what was going on. We were taxiing on to taxiway alpha. Not only had the captain landed perfectly but he'd also slowed down enough to exit at the first taxiway!! We stopped just after leaving the runway and the whole cabin burst into a round of applause. For the first time ever, I didn't think this was weird and joined in wholeheartedly.

The captain then came on and said very coolly "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Shannon. We are just stopping here on the taxiway while the fire brigade check our landing gear. If we can continue to the stand, we will. If not, we'll get you off here". I couldn't believe how calm he was but when I spoke to the lead FA outside the terminal later, she said he was in a bit of a state once it was all over.

After about 10 minutes, the fire brigade cleared us to taxi to the stand and we were on blocks around 45 minutes late. Needless to say, they did not play the fanfare Wink. We all disembarked as normal and the airport shop did a roaring trade on cigarettes. It seemed like half of my flight were out in the smoking area Wink.

So that was my emergency landing experience. Looking back, it was a bit of a non-event. There wasn't actually anything wrong with the tyre and the aircraft flew off to PIK about 45 minutes later. However, I did not realise that when I was in the brace position and planning how to evacuate a burning aircraft. I was very pleased that I wasn't at the overwing exit. I'd know how to open it but I would have been even more nervous all through the landing as I would have been responsible for many people if we had had to evacuate.

Here are a few observations about the handling of the incident:

1. Overall, I think it was handled very well. I'm glad that they didn't announce anything too early in the flight as it was only me that realised something was up so everyone else was calm.

2. I think they should have informed us that we would be doing the go-around. I think not knowing what was happening made people much more nervous than necessary.

3. We should definitely have been told that we were going to have to take up the brace position. The first we heard of it was when the captain said "Brace brace". This is the only major complaint I have. I think a proper briefing with a demonstration of the brace position would have been very useful as Ryanair don't even mention it in the safety demo and not everyone knows what to do.

4. When it was all over, the cabin crew were brilliant. They were asking everyone if they were OK and if they needed assistance as they were leaving the aircraft.

Apart from point 3 above, I don't think the incident could have been handled much better. I realise that point 3 is quite a major criticism but none of us know how we'd react as crew in such a situation so I will give them the benefit of the doubt on this occasion.

Finally, I would like to thank the entire crew on FR1313 yesterday for getting us down safely. As far as I'm concerned, they earned every cent of their wage packet during this incident and I would be more than happy to fly with any of them again!

Thanks for reading. I hope this was of interest.

Safe travels!

Gareth

eth0_

I guess Gareth is a pilot himself?

gpb_croppers63

eth0_ wrote: »

I guess Gareth is a pilot himself?

Hi,

I'm Gareth and I'm not a pilot. I am simply an aviation enthusiast who knows a fair bit about flying and flies a great deal. If you've got any questions about my view of the flight, I'd be more than happy to try and answer them.

Cheers,

Gareth

gpb_croppers63

zuroph wrote: »

...he landed the plane in a "wheelie" for as long as possible before touching down the front landing gear.

I'm not convinced that it was the front landing gear that was at fault. After we stopped on stand, the captain came out of the cockpit and went to look at the left main landing gear. Also, when we were stopped on the taxiway just short of the runway, I'm pretty sure that he shut down the left engine to allow the fire crew to inspect the landing gear. I could be completely wrong about all of this but that's what I saw.

zuroph

yeah, which would also concur with my theory that we swerved a bit to the left on takeoff. it was reported in media that it was a front landing gear problem, also, on aerspace contrails blog, eyewitness of landing says he kept the nose up for a considerable distance on landing..
Theres something we're not being told IMO! latest report now is that birmingham are denying reporting finding rubber, and that it may have been a crossed wire from manchester!

gpb_croppers63

To be honest, I'd take any media reports on aviation incidents with a ton of salt!! I have read so many articles on aircraft incidents and crashes that are full of errors. All I know from what I saw is that the captain suspected a burning smell in the cockpit and wasn't sure whether we'd burst a tyre. I'd be very surprised if that information didn't come from Birmingham tower because I can't see how else he'd come to that conclusion. There certainly aren't any warning lights in the cockpit for burst tyres.

zuroph

yeah, its all a bit odd. anyway, we're down and safe! was kinda gutted we didnt get to use the slide in the end!

gpb_croppers63

Yeah I've always thought they looked fun too. Although a colleague of mine used to be cabin crew ans she said they're not as much fun as they look.

A couple more thoughts have occurred to me since my last reply:

1. It's quite possible that the pilot was talking to Manchester air traffic control about the incident and that they reported that rubber was found on Birmingham's runway. This could explain the Birmingham/Manchester confusion.

2. The wind was blowing slightly across the runway in Birmingham. The pilot would be making adjustments for this throughout the takeoff roll. This would explain why you felt the aircraft swerving. Bear in mind that any left and right movements, as well as turbulence can always be felt more strongly in the back of an aircraft. I didn't notice anything odd about the takeoff roll at all.

zuroph

fair enough!
as for the slide, after the adrenaline of the 10 minutes previous, im sure it would have been an anticlimax, but would have been a nice finishing note for the story too

gpb_croppers63

Yeah definitely. Although it wouldn't have been so much fun if the aircraft had been engulfed in flames and everyone was fighting to get out. On balance, I think I'd rather it turned out the way it did .

zuroph

during the descent, i was eyeing up the old ones in the rows behind me wondering how id get past them cos they'd just take forever! had decided over the seats was gonna be my only option!

gpb_croppers63

Lol!! Well I was alright Jack. I had a door literally a few inches away from me and if the crew weren't able to open it, I know how to open a 737 door so I'd have been out of there . I was happy I wasn't sat at the overwing exit though. I'd have known how to open it but wouldn't have wanted the responsibility of deciding whether it was safe to do so and helping loads of passengers to evacuate!

Red Sleeping Beauty

zuroph wrote: »

during the descent, i was eyeing up the old ones in the rows behind me wondering how id get past them cos they'd just take forever! had decided over the seats was gonna be my only option!

Women, children and the elderly first.

netman

alan dunne 27 wrote: »

Women, children and the elderly first.

... to be trampled

Judging by zuroph's post, or by several yearly incidents in countries like India.
Human nature is a terrible thing!

gpb_croppers63

alan dunne 27 wrote: »

Women, children and the elderly first.

Whatever happened to equality?

DanGerMus

Just tried to use the voucher trick and it let me retrieve one of the three E50 vouchers but wouldn't let me use another one and now the session has been locked. It seems like i can't use the site at all now like they've blocked my ip!!??

pab_lowe

Hi there, has anyone experience of using ryanair travel credits. My booked flight has changed and now I cannot use it. The alternative I have been offered is to get a travel credit. The only T&Cs that I can find are that the flights must be booked within 6 months and used within 12 months.
I also see that one must ring their offices as opposed to using the online system in order to book the flight. My question is, of the actual money I paid for the original flight, ie flight cost, insurance, baggage, infant, tax etc, how much of that can I actually use towards the travel credit? Is there an admin charge also.
In my infinite scepticism of ryanair’s ability to actually return money, I wonder is it worth my while even attempting to do this? Total costs involved are about 220 euros for wife, I and infant

Thanks for any help

Pab

lynchie

pab_lowe wrote: »

Hi there, has anyone experience of using ryanair travel credits. My booked flight has changed and now I cannot use it. The alternative I have been offered is to get a travel credit. The only T&Cs that I can find are that the flights must be booked within 6 months and used within 12 months.
I also see that one must ring their offices as opposed to using the online system in order to book the flight. My question is, of the actual money I paid for the original flight, ie flight cost, insurance, baggage, infant, tax etc, how much of that can I actually use towards the travel credit? Is there an admin charge also.
In my infinite scepticism of ryanair’s ability to actually return money, I wonder is it worth my while even attempting to do this? Total costs involved are about 220 euros for wife, I and infant

Thanks for any help

Pab

If the flight has changed considerably they usually offer you a refund. I've taken this option several times and the exact fees are credited back to whatever card you used to pay for them.

pab_lowe

thanks for your reply lynchie.The flight has not changed considerably, in fact there is only 20 minutes difference between the times. However, as the offer was made of a travel credit, I thought it worth investigating what that actually entailed.

thanks again

eth0_

Why don't you just take the flight? What difference does 20 minutes make - i'm surprised they even offered you the option to change your flights as 20 mins is so insignificant.

the groutch

now they've announce that they want to charge for using their toilets on the planes

:eek:

MOH

the groutch wrote: »

now they've announce that they want to charge for using their toilets on the planes

:eek:

OK, this is going a bit too far.


Link

Breaking news wrote:

Ryanair is considering charging passengers to use the toilet on its aircraft.

The airline's boss, Michael O'Leary, is touting the idea of putting a coin slot on the toilet door as a means of raising "discretionary revenue".

Last week, Ryanair announced plans to shut all check-in desks at airports and require passengers to check-in online in an effort to cut costs.

The airline is also introducing an onboard mobile-phone service that will charge passengers up to €3 per minute to make a phonecall.

axer

It could be just a publicity exercise or it could be to gauge how far public opinion will go before actually realistically considering the idea.

the groutch

how would they be able to close all check in desks?
does that mean you can't have any baggage any more?

Davy

axer wrote: »

It could be just a publicity exercise or it could be to gauge how far public opinion will go before actually realistically considering the idea.

To raise awareness of the new phone service