Virgin Atlantic flight to Barbados makes emergency landing at Manchester Airport after 'cockpit fills with smoke'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A Virgin Atlantic plane made an emergency landing at Manchester Airport after pilots reported 'dense acrid smoke' in the cockpit.

The jet was met on the runway by fire engines after landing at 1.50pm on Sunday. It had taken off from Manchester on route to Barbados less than an hour earlier, but was forced to return after declaring an emergency over the Irish Sea around 20 minutes into the journey.

Aviation website AirLive reported there were unconfirmed reports of 'smoke in the cockpit'. The website later updated its piece to say 'pilots are reporting dense and acrid smell of smoke on air traffic control', before adding the flight had 'landed safely on runway 05R, met by fire engines to cool the brakes'. READ MORE: Armed robbers stabbed driver in 'chest and leg' before stealing his '£300 Ford Focus' READ MORE: Police release images of man after football fan 'slashed' and left with life-changing injury A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: "The VS77 from Manchester to Barbados has returned to Manchester due to a technical issue.

The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. "We'll ensure our customers can complete their travel plans and keep them updated directly on next steps." A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said: "At just after 1.30pm today (Sunday), firefighters were called to an incident involving an aircraft making an emergency landing at Manchester Airport.