Inquiry into airport runway crash

Passengers were taken off the planes after the incident

An investigation is under way after two passenger planes collided while taxiing at Manchester Airport.

The BMI Baby Boeing 737 travelling to Belfast International and an Excel Airways Boeing 767 travelling to Goa touched wings outside Terminal Two.

Seventy-nine passengers were on board the BMI Baby plane while 255 were on the Excel Airways plane, though no-one is thought to have been injured.

Air accident investigators were at the scene on Thursday afternoon.

'Wings clipped'

One passenger who arrived in Belfast on Thursday said: "We were on the runway preparing to take off and then the plane just went from side to side and then the other plane came up the side and stopped next to us .

"You could see a piece of the wing sitting on the runway - people were extremely scared."

A fellow passenger said: "Fire engines came rushing to the scene - we got swung a bit and the front wheel buckled and it knocked the back rudder off it and knocked part of the wing off."

The remainder of the passengers are expected to return to Belfast later on Friday.

A Greater Manchester Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We received reports that there had been a minor collision between two planes on the runway.

"We believe that the wings of the two planes may have clipped."

The passengers from the affected flights were taken back to Terminal One to await alternative flights to continue their journeys.

Other flights at the airport continued as normal.

A spokesman for BMI Baby said: "We can confirm there was an incident at Manchester Airport which involved a BMI Baby aircraft being damaged.

"We are not aware of any injuries to passengers or crew.

"The incident is currently being investigated."