Mid-air emergency declared on Londonderry-bound flight

A passenger on a flight from London to Londonderry has said she thought she was going to die after a mid-air emergency was declared.

Joanne McLaughlin said they were told to prepare for the brace position while crossing the Irish Sea, and the "plane was definitely descending".

"When the first announcement was made, I 100% thought I was going to die, it was absolutely terrifying," McLaughlin said.

She was travelling on a Loganair flight from London Heathrow to the City of Derry airport on Thursday. It later emerged a cockpit windscreen had cracked. The Scottish airline said safety protocols had been followed.

McLaughlin, who lives in England and was visiting relatives in Derry, said after the initial announcement, they did not have another update for about 10 minutes.

"There were people on the plane who were visibility very distressed, I fully thought because we were over the sea when the emergency call was made, I thought the plane was going to crash into the sea," she said.

McLaughlin said the captain announced there was a crack in the windscreen in the cockpit and they had lowered the altitude to normalise cabin pressure.

They were then told the flight was planning to make an emergency landing at Belfast City airport, but shortly after the pilot confirmed it was safe enough to continue to Derry.

"I felt better when the captain said what the problem was because at least I knew it wasn't a catastrophic issue, but the initial announcement was so stark and left for so long before that update, it was too long," said McLaughlin.

The flight landed on time with all passengers and crew unharmed.

When they got to the gate, McLaughlin said the captain apologised for any anxiety the flight had caused.

McLaughlin said she felt that more after care should have been provided to passengers following the flight.

"There was 50 odd people on that plane who thought they were going to die, and when we landed, we were not offered anything or even to sit down for five minutes," she said.

McLaughlin said an email from the airline would have been appreciated.

A spokesperson for Loganair confirmed the flight "experienced an issue".

"As a precaution, the flight crew followed appropriate safety protocols, and the aircraft landed as normal," they added. "The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew remains our top priority."

A spokesperson for City of Derry Airport said a technical issue had been reported on an incoming Loganair flight from London.

"As a precaution, emergency services responded in line with established procedures," they said.

"We would like to thank all responding agencies for their prompt and professional response."

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