Mutiny on flight as fuel leaks from wings

More than 300 passengers on board a flight from Thailand to England reportedly refused to get back on a flight after a stopover in the Middle East – because they said they saw fuel “pouring out” of one of the wings. According to The Daily Telegraph, passengers “screamed, refused to sit in their seats, and demanded that the pilot stop the flight” as the Phuket Air Boeing 747 moved along the runway at Sharjah airport, in the United Arab Emirates. Three hours after the first attempt, and after the fault had apparently been repaired, a second take-off attempt was aborted when passengers once more said they saw fuel leaking from the right-hand wing. The Telegraph quotes one passenger as saying: “It was terrifying. Everyone was on their feet shouting for the plane to stop after a man next to the window started yelling that fuel was pouring down from the wing, over an engine. We were all thinking about the Concorde crash a few years ago.” The BBC reports that the plane is currently being checks and that airport officials said it would be ready to fly some time on Monday. But, the BBC News website reports, many passengers say they are loath to get back on the plane; one is quoted as saying: “There will be a mutiny – I don’t think anyone will get on the flight.” Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd