Plane grounded after mid-air emergency

Engineers are carrying out a thorough investigation

A plane has been grounded after it was involved in a mid-air emergency over the Irish Sea.

Engineers are carrying out a thorough investigation after the Flybe aircraft, travelling between Birmingham and Belfast, went into a nose-dive.

Passengers were thrown about in their seats and a male flight attendant suffered a broken leg when he was knocked to the ground.

A full emergency was declared at Belfast City Airport but the plane landed safely

'Rare incident'

Ambulance crews treated the injured and comforted passengers suffering from shock.

Flybe, formerly British European, has now brought in engineers to carry out a full examination of the aircraft.

Managing director of the airline, Jim French, has reassured passengers the plane will not be back in the air until the investigations are over.

He told BBC Radio WM: "Such incidents are extremely rare.

"It's the first incident we have had in 21 years and we have about 80,000 flights carrying around three million passengers a year.

"As an airline, safety is foremost in our minds hence why we have immediately commenced an investigation working with the authorities."

He added: "The aircraft is not in service today and is currently being inspected by our own teams plus the authorities."