'Odd smell' forces plane landing

Twenty-four passengers were on the flight

A British Airways flight travelling from the Isle of Man to Manchester was forced back to the island after passengers noticed a strange smell.

Flight BA4409, one of the airline's regional BA Connect services, had been in the air for about 10 minutes before it turned around on Wednesday night.

A BA spokesman said the pilot took the decision as a safety precaution.

Engineers are currently examining the 50-seater plane and passengers have been put up in hotels for the night.

"About 10 to 15 minutes into the flight there was a strange smell in the cabin and the pilot decided to return the aircraft back to the Isle of Man, where it landed safely," the spokesman said.

"Engineers are currently looking at the plane but we have decided to put passengers up in hotels for the night and re-book them tomorrow morning."

"Our pilots would never compromise the safety of an aircraft and took the precaution of returning to the Isle of Man."

Twenty-four passengers were on board the aircraft at the time of the incident.