A ‘weeping’ pilot allegedly told passengers on a flight to France that they were minutes away from crashing into the sea after one of the plane’s twin engines broke down.
Passengers were ordered by crew to put on their life jackets, remove jewellery and brace for a water landing.
They were told they had six minutes before they would crash, a passenger told the Daily Mail.
He said passengers on the Europe Airpost flight from Split in Croatia to Nantes were crying and screaming.
However, the Boeing 737 landed safely at Venice Marco Polo Airport with no injuries, and the airline told the paper the passengers’ safety was not at risk.
A spokesman said in a statement to the newspaper: "The flight from Split to Nantes experienced an incident with an engine. This was identified by the crew who took the decision to land in Venice and inform the passengers.
"It was a procedure practised by the crew, who landed the plane safely in Venice."
The same airline was involved in an emergency landing at Cork in January. The Boeing 737 was flying 144 passengers from Belfast to Barcelona when it was forced to divert to Cork due to a suspected fuel leak.
