Boeing faces review call over Glasgow air scare

PASSENGERS evacuated from planeas it filled with smoke have called for a review of the aircraft’s systems.A total of 231 passengers and eight crew escaped from a Boeing 757 on the runway at Glasgow Airport after arriving from Turkey, on ­11 October.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report identified a faulty auxiliary power unit (APU) which is a power system used as large planes are taxied and passengers disembarked.

The APU on the Boeing 757 was returned to the manufacturer for examination. It has emerged the same Thomas Cook-operated aircraft was used the next day, without the APU being operated, to take travellers to Tenerife. But it was diverted to Manchester when the pilots detected a smell of fuel and began to feel light-headed, forcing them to use oxygen masks.

The AAIB concluded the smell may have been caused by residual oil in the air conditioning or cooling systems from the the previous incident.

Craig Gourlay, 35, from Lanarkshire, claims he was hurt while being evacuated with his wife and four-year-old son.

He said: “All three of us will never forget how terrifying that experience was and it is important news that the cause of the problems has been identified.”

Jim Morris, a partner at Irwin Mitchell law firm said: “It is vital the full cause and chain of events for both incidents are understood to improve safety.”