Ryanair plane tail hits runway during take-off

A Ryanair flight from Malta to London Luton was forced to return to the airport in Malta after the tail of the aircraft brushed the runway.

According to Times of Malta, the plane took off at a steep angle.

Crew on the Boeing 737-800 stopped the ascent at 5,000ft, The Aviation Herald reports.

The plane safely landed in Malta around 35 minutes after it had departed.

Technicians inspected the aircraft and found the damage was only to a plastic protector.

The flight was reportedly delayed by eight hours and a replacement plane was used.

In March, two Ryanair pilots admitted they had forgotten to contact the control tower before landing a Boeing 737 in Alicante carrying 174 passengers. This came a month after a Ryanair aircraft reportedly taxied the wrong way down a runway where other planes were about to land in Dublin.

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