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TUI flight with 200 passengers suffered 'catastrophic failure' as it landed and skidded off runway

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A shocking new report has revealed that awith 200 passengers experienced a "catastrophic failure" upon its descent in the UK before skidding off the runway.

The harrowing touchdown of the occurred while was unleashing havoc across the nation. Air investigation authorities explained that the aircraft encountered trouble as it approached Leeds Bradford Airport last October,and onto the grassy verge.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) pinpointed the incident to a nosewheel bearing on the plane that met with a "catastrophic failure", most likely during the "rollout"—the terminal portion of landing where the jet travels along the runway prior to reaching its gate.

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Luckily, the mishap resulted in only minor damage, and no passengers among those travelling from Corfu were harmed. Malcolm Fell, a passenger, recounted the event to describing the landing as "a little bit dramatic", although he noted fellow passengers remained "quite calm."

"The plane came down and the pilot applied reverse thrust and the brakes, and it started to aquaplane – or it seemed that way," Fell disclosed to i. "It seemed to speed up rather than slow down."

He continued, relating the apprehension he shared with his wife: "My wife turned to me and she said: 'I think you better brace yourself because this is not going to stop'. All of a sudden we were at a standstill on the grass."

The official report revealed that as the plane began to move to the left, the crew reported feeling a significant judder but the full range of rudder application was not used to correct the drift. The crew attempted to regain control of the plane as it veered off the runway but were unsuccessful. The aircraft exited the runway at approximately 63mph and came to a stop six seconds later, 500ft beyond the taxiway, on muddy ground.

According to the AAIB's press release: "After touching down at Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) in stormy , the aircraft began to yaw left of the runway centreline. When the pilot flying increased the right rudder input to correct the deviation, both pilots reported feeling a significant judder from the nose gear.

"This prompted the pilot flying to reduce the right rudder input and, although there were repeated brief right pedal inputs, the aircraft continued to deviate from the centreline and left the runway. The aircraft sustained minor damage and there were no injuries."

The investigation revealed that one of the aircraft's nosewheel bearings had failed catastrophically, likely during the rollout at LBA, causing the juddering. However, it was found that there was no mechanical impediment to using additional rudder and braking to prevent the runway excursion.

A Leeds Bradford airport spokesperson stated: "Our safety and compliance team worked closely with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch following the incident in October last year. While supporting the AAIB, we also took the opportunity to conduct our own internal investigation to review our emergency response processes and procedures.

"We were satisfied that the conclusions presented in the AAIB bulletin issued on 24 October and the outcomes reached in relation to the airport mirrored the outcomes of our own investigation."

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