Plane evacuation chaos at Glasgow Airport

Passengers were injured in the evacuation of a plane at Glasgow Airport which was ordered by a cabin crew member without the knowledge of the pilots, according to the official investigation.

There were reports of passengers from the Thomson Airways Boeing 757 coming down the emergency slides and colliding with those at the bottom, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report said.

Some passengers were concerned about the "apparent lack of assistance" once they had been evacuated after smoke was smelled on the plane, which had travelled from Madeira with 238 people on board.

The evacuation on 15 February last year was ordered by the senior cabin crew member after normal disembarkation had started. Earlier, the flight crew had been aware of the smell and the co-pilot had briefly left the cockpit to investigate.

Four passengers had minor injuries and "the flight crew were not aware an evacuation had been initiated", the AAIB said.