An aircraft with 33 passengers on board made an emergency landing at Inverness Airport after fears that the wings were icing up.
The Saab 340 was only 30 minutes into its journey from Aberdeen to Shetland’s Sumburgh Airport when passengers were told that the they would have to divert to Inverness due to a problem with the de-icing system.
A full-scale emergency alert was issued, with police, fire crews and ambulances heading at speed to the airport to await the plane’s arrival.
But the twin-engined Flybe plane, operated by Loganair, which also had four crew on board, landed safely at 3.30pm.
Passengers were taken off the aircraft, which was then thoroughly checked by engineers.
A replacement plane was brought from Glasgow yesterday evening to take passengers onwards to Sumburgh. They are understood to have left Inverness at 6pm last night.
Those caught up in the drama yesterday said they were surprised that ice was the problem.
One man, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s just a pity that it has happened at this time of year. I did not think there would be any need for it.
“For the safety of everyone I think they made the right decision. There was nothing we could do to make it any better. The captain said it was for our own safety. If anything happened there would have been hell to pay.”
Highland aviation enthusiast David Edes said that ice was a regular issue for fliers.
He said that various methods were used to prevent icing, adding that the twin propeller aircraft involved was likely to have an electrical system.
He said: “If the plane has to go through cloud then ice could form on the wings.
“It was probably a precautionary landing. The icing system would have shown a fault of some sort and you need to land to check it. Everyone errs on the side of safety.”
A spokesman for Loganair said last night: “Flight BE6774 declared an emergency as a precautionary measure due to a technical issue with the aircraft’s de-icing system.
“The aircraft was diverted to Inverness Airport and landed safely.
“Having declared an emergency the aircraft was given clearance for landing and in line with standard procedure, airfield operations at the airport mobilised the emergency services.
“Our engineering team will conduct a full inspection of the aircraft.”