'Catastrophic failure' before Tui flight came off Leeds Bradford Airport runway during Storm Babet

The plane landed during heavy rain caused by Storm Babet in October 2023. Credit: PA

A passenger plane suffered a "catastrophic failure" of one of its parts before it skidded off the runway at Leeds Bradford Airport during Storm Babet, an investigation has found.

The Tui flight, from Corfu, was landing at the airport in heavy rain when it came off the runway and came to a stop on grass on 20 October 2023.

All 195 passengers and crew were unharmed, but the airport closed while investigations took place.

A report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) found one of the aircraft's nosewheel bearings suffered a "catastrophic failure" which resulted in the plane "juddering" as it came into land.

However, it said the fault should not have prevented the plane from being kept on the runway.

The plane veered to the left of the runway in strong winds.

The AAIB report said: "Pilots are trained to deal with non-normal and emergency events and the aircraft deviation from the runway centreline may have been considered a challenging situation by the crew.

"There was limited time for the crew to assess the cause of the judder and the practical impact it had on the directional control of the aircraft and surprise or startle may have been a factor.

"However, as the aircraft approached the side of the runway, it is not clear why the [pilot] did not attempt to use all right rudder available, in spite of the judder, to prevent the runway excursion."

The report said the initial phase of the landing was normal, with the aircraft touching down and decelerating properly.

But the plane deviated left due to a strong crosswind.

There was "no mechanical defect" which would have prevented the crew from correcting the problem, the report said.

"However, the crew’s actions may have been influenced by the nosewheel juddering," it added.

The aircraft sustained minor damage, but no-one was injured.

Tui declined to comment on the findings of the investigation.

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