Emergencies hit flights

Flights were disrupted across the south of England after two incidents hit Gatwick and Bournemouth airports last night.

Flights were disrupted across the south of England after two incidents hit Gatwick and Bournemouth airports last night.

At Gatwick, a Boeing 767 carrying 146 people slid off the runway yesterday evening as it was taxiing to its stand after landing in heavy rain. None of the passengers on the Britannia flight from Manchester was injured, but one set of wheels were stuck in mud.

The plane was cleared after more than two hours, during which time 27 flights were diverted to other airports. Disruption continued this morning as planes and crews returned to their scheduled airports.

At Bournemouth, the nosewheel of an ATR-72 aircraft operated by CityFlyer Express collapsed on landing. Two adults and two children were taken to hospital, although none was believed to be injured seriously.

The aircraft had been diverted to Bournemouth while en route from Jersey to Gatwick.