Emergency declared as Sumburgh-bound flight diverted
Rosalind GriffithsA full-scale emergency was declared at Kirkwall Airport this morning as a plane bound for Shetland reported an “icing” problem.
The Loganair Saab 340 with 25 passengers on board had taken off from Aberdeen at 6.50am and was due to land at Sumburgh at 7.45am.
As the pilot approached Sumburgh he announced that the plane would return to Aberdeen, but then decided to divert to Kirkwall.
Police, fire and ambulance crews were alerted, and the Kirkwall lifeboat was launched.
However the plane landed safely and a replacement was sent out. The passengers eventually arrived in Sumburgh around 1pm. The incident meant that Shetland received no newspapers.
A Loganair engineering team is to carry out a full inspection of the aircraft.
David Toney
Why cant we get some more modern aircraft on the Shetland routes ?
These old planes cant keep going forever !
Robert Duncan
They’re upgrading to bigger planes later this year, I believe. No idea if bigger means newer, mind.
Peter Smith
Not this time. SAAB stopped making the 340 in 1998 and the 2000 in 1999.