16.08.05
A Helios flight from Cyprus flying in to Birmingham airport had problems landing because of technical problems the day before the airlines crash near Athens. The pilot had a problem with landing flaps on the plane and the flight circled and delayed landing for half an hour before being escorted into the airport by fire crews.
On Sunday 115 passengers and six crew on the Helios flight from Cyprus to via Athens Prague died when it hit a hill in Greece. The plane is thought to have suffered a drop in cabin pressure which knocked out both pilots.
A Helios spokesman said the birmingham airport plane landed safely on Saturday, passengers were not at risk and the problem was 'nothing out of the ordinary'. A spokesman for the airport confirmed the pilot had reported a problem with the landing flaps on Flight 408 but said the plane had landed after a 'routine precaution procedure'.
'The plane circled to test the landing flaps. It is what we call a "local standby". The captain contacts air traffic control and they will let the fire service know and the fire service will go out and escort them back. It landed okay but it's a bit disconcerting for passengers,' the birmingham airport spokesman said.
The spokesman for Helios said the passengers were not endangered in any way. 'One of the flaps needed adjusting, or tuning. This is not something that's out of the ordinary - it was a simple maintenance job. It landed safely, the plane was checked and it set off again okay the next day,' he said.
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