Touch and go as 150mph gale buffets aircraft during landing

Published on Monday 3 March 2008 21:12

AN AIRLINER, caught by winds of more than 150mph as it tried to land during a storm, grazed its wing tip on the runway before the pilot wrestled it back into the air.

The incident happened on Saturday as the Lufthansa Airbus A320, with 131 passengers on board, approached Hamburg Airport on a flight from Munich.

Amateur video footage, played repeatedly on German television, showed the Airbus A320 buffeted by crosswinds and driving rain as it landed.

An airline spokesman said the plane was rocked by gusts of wind clocked at 155mph as it tried to land.

The plane approached the asphalt runway at an odd angle, then swerved sharply before touching down, with one of its wings scraping the ground. The pilots averted disaster by quickly taking off again, going into a so-called go-around manoeuvre which the spokesman called an "absolutely professional" course of action.

None of the passengers or crew were injured and the plane circled for about ten minutes before landing safely on another runway.

"It was a dicey situation," the spokesman said. "People were quite shaken."

Passenger Hansi Kuepper said there was silence on board for several minutes after the incident. "It is hard to describe – it went very quickly," he added.

The plane went back into service on Sunday, after repairs.

Juergen Raps, Lufthansa executive vice-president of operations, said: "Just before landing, the plane was hit by a very strong gust of wind that led to the left wing touching the ground very briefly.

"The pilots reacted outstandingly by inducing a go-around."

Gale-force winds caused chaos in Germany and other central European countries over the weekend, killing several people and causing power cuts as well as major travel disruption.

Flights across Germany were cancelled, diverted or delayed.