Plane landed with 'minutes of fuel' left

A passenger jet carrying 171 people landed with about one per cent of its fuel remaining after severe weather and a series of diversions left it with only minutes to spare, an air safety report said.

The Boeing 737 had been due to fly from Pisa, Italy, to Prestwick, near Glasgow, on 3 October last year, before being diverted via Edinburgh and eventually landing in Manchester.

During Storm Amy, the aircraft encountered three separate wind shear events, a change in wind speed and direction at different heights, and a request to divert to Manchester was initially refused.

Manchester Airport said its policy was to accept diversion requests if the airport had the capacity to receive the aircraft.

A report by Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found the flight, which was carrying 171 passengers and six crew members, encountered deteriorating weather conditions on its approach to Prestwick.

The crew abandoned two landing attempts after receiving wind shear warnings and sought to divert to Manchester.

However, the request was turned down and the aircraft instead headed to Edinburgh.

A third wind shear event occurred during the approach to Edinburgh, prompting the pilots to declare a fuel emergency before diverting to Manchester.

The crew transmitted a mayday fuel call as the situation became increasingly urgent.

The report said: "It is unlikely that there would have been sufficient fuel available for another go-around."

The aircraft landed safely at Manchester Airport at 19:13 GMT with 363kg (800 Ibs) of fuel remaining, well below its final reserve fuel of 1,100kg (2425 Ibs).

Investigators found the initial refusal of the diversion request appeared to stem from a breakdown in communication within Manchester Airport.

Following the incident, Manchester Airport said it reviewed the circumstances and reinforced its procedures for handling diversion requests.

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