A plane from Darlington had to perform a “full emergency” landing in Aberdeen this evening due to fears of a fire on board.
The Eastern Airways flight, which had been travelling from an airport in Darlington to Aberdeen, was forced to land as quickly as possible after a fire warning was received by the crew.
The warning stated that a possible fire had been ignited in one of the Saab 2000 aircraft’s toilets.
Nobody was injured as a result of the incident, and the plane managed to land safely at around 9.30pm.
A spokesman for Eastern Airways said: “On approach to Aberdeen, the captain of flight T3 588 from Durham Tees Valley received a cockpit warning indication relating to the smoke detector system in the toilet.
“The Saab 2000 aircraft with 26 passengers and four crew landed safely at 9.28pm.
“After landing, passengers disembarked via the aircraft steps on the runway as the airport fire service inspected the aircraft.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused, but the safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority.”
A spokesman for Aberdeen Airport said: “An aircraft called a full emergency, and landed safely. Passengers got off, and it was all stood down pretty quick. There was a suspected fire, but no fire was confirmed.”
Police, fire and ambulance crews were called out to Aberdeen Airport at around 9.20pm to meet the aircraft, but none of their services were required.
A police spokesman has confirmed that an investigation is taking place into the incident.
As a result of the incident, a Virgin Atlantic flight from Heathrow to Aberdeen was delayed because the runway it was due to land on was occupied by the Eastern Airways flight and emergency services.
After circling Aberdeen airport for 10 minutes, it was forced to fly to Edinburgh to refuel.
A spokesman for Virgin Atlantic said last night: “Virgin Atlantic can confirm that flight Vs3025 from London Heathrow to Aberdeen temporarily diverted to Edinburgh due to an unforseen temporary closure of the runway at Aberdeen Airport.
“The aircraft took on additional fuel at Edinburgh and is now on route to Aberdeen, scheduled to arrive at 23.49.
“We would like to thank customers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”