Plane turns back because of bees

A PALMAIR flight en route to Faro was forced to turn back to Bournemouth airport after a swarm of bees caused engine problems.

The flight, with 90 passengers, was more than an hour into its journey when the pilot experienced an engine surge.

The law demands the aircraft return to its UK base in such circumstances unless it is more than halfway to its destination.

Senior managers at Palmair tried to find a replacement plane but were unable to do so because all comparable craft were bringing Liverpool fans back from the Champions League final in Athens.

A total of 196 passengers were affected, 90 attempting to travel to Portugal and a further 106 waiting at the other end for the return flight to Bournemouth.

Palmair's managing director David Skillicorn said the Boeing 737 flight took off on time at 8.10am yesterday but was forced to return due to irregular power transmission from one of the two engines.

"It would appear that the engine has ingested a swarm of bees." he told the Daily Echo. "This is not life-threatening because they come out of the back of the engine but we must check each fan for any possible damage."

It is thought the bees were ingested as the flight took off from Bournemouth but it was an hour before they caused problems.

Mr Skillicorn said a routine air test must be carried out after the checks but said everything possible was done to ensure passengers' comfort.

The incident happened just two days after a swarm of 20,000 bees descended on Bournemouth's Pier Approach.

Last night Palmair's managing director David Skillicorn said the aircraft had failed its air test and another was on its way from Luton.

That plane finally left Bournemouth at 7.15pm, and the passengers from Faro arrived back in Britain at 1.20am - meaning they had been delayed by 11 hours.

8:03am Friday 25th May 2007

By Jane Reader