Ryanair urged to act after girl, 3, hurt in fall

Air accident investigators have recommended budget airline Ryanair review its procedures after a three-year-old child fell on to the tarmac while boarding a plane.

The child, Olga, escaped with minor injuries after falling through the gap between the handrail and the platform at the top of a Boeing 737's boarding step at Stansted Airport, near London. She had climbed the stairs unassisted, as her mother, journalist Sasha Slater, was carrying her toddler son and luggage.

When Olga reached the top of the stairs, "she turned towards her mother, leaned backwards and fell through the gap between the extendable handrail and the top of the airstairs", an Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report said yesterday. She was airlifted to hospital and released 24 hours later.

The AAIB said Ryanair should review its procedures "so that assistance is made available to passengers accompanied by children and those with special needs".