The plane with 106 passengers on board landed safely at Belgrade airport after suffering serious damage shortly after taking off from the Serbian capital, several local media reported this Monday.
An Embraer E-195 from Greece’s Marathon Airlines, which operates several aircraft on behalf of the Serbian national carrier, was en route to the German city of Dusseldorf on Sunday afternoon.
Aircraft monitoring service Flightradar24 indicated that flight JU324 did not have enough distance to take off safely.
During takeoff, the left side of the aircraft was seriously damaged when the landing system was hit by elements on a runway opposite the one in use and located relatively close to a busy highway.
Video footage and photographs of the plane released in the meantime showed a large hole and tear in the fuselage at the base of the left wing, and damage to the tail section.
Firefighters doused the fuselage with foam, given the risk of a fuel spill.
Having managed to gain altitude, the plane remained in the air for about an hour before landing safely at Belgrade airport, local media reported, citing testimonies from passengers.
After they were escorted off the plane, AirSerbia told passengers that the return was due to technical reasons and that their lives were not in danger.
Because of this incident, the airport was closed for some time, and planes were redirected to other airports.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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