Ryanair pilot makes emergency landing, three people hospitalised

Stock photo: PA

Three people are in hospital and ten others injured after a Ryanair flight had to make an emergency landing following a cabin pressure alert.

The plane was heading to East Midlands Airport from Bergamo in Italy when it had to divert to Frankfurt in Germany after a pressurisation warning.

The pilot descended from 31,000ft to 10,000ft as recommended and, according to one passenger, he could be heard saying "mayday, mayday" as the plane went down.

Jacqueline Frater, who was travelling with her husband Melvin, was one of the 134 passengers on board. She told the BBC: "You could see the whites of the eyes of the people next to you. People were panicking but they weren't screaming or shouting.

"You overheard the captain saying 'mayday, mayday,' and he was saying it rapidly as we were going down. I thought my number was up."

Mr Frater added: "I don't know how long we were actually falling but you could tell it was rapidly because of the pressure in our ears.

"Then the children and babies started crying with the pain."

The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation said three people were taken to hospital but were not seriously injured, and 10 people suffered minor injuries but did not need hospital treatment.

The bureau added that a full investigation into the incident could take up to a year.

Ryanair has apologised to passengers for the incident and subsequent delays, and passengers later continued their journey on another plane.

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