Birmingham Airport shut as transplant aircraft crashes

20.11.2010 [14:46]
Print
A⁺ A^-

Baku, November 20 (AZERTAC). Birmingham Airport has been closed until at least 1200 GMT on Saturday after a private jet carrying a liver for transplant crashed on a runway.

Two people were taken to hospital after the plane came down in fog. The airport said the aircraft had hit its landing system antennae. One eyewitness said the plane was on fire as it came in to land at 1535 GMT.

The organ was safely delivered to the city`s Queen Elizabeth Hospital by a police motorbike.

The hospital said the liver would be used for transplant on Friday evening after being clinically assessed.

It had been hoped the airport could reopen on Saturday morning, but a spokesperson later confirmed it would be 1200 GMT at the earliest before flights could resume.

The aircraft involved was a private Cessna Citation 501 which was travelling from Belfast to Birmingham.

Manchester Airport and East Midlands Airport said they were taking diverted flights from Birmingham.

Police said the A45 near to the airport was closed and commuters were advised to avoid the area.

Birmingham Airport shut as transplant aircraft crashes

FEEDBACK

Other news in this section