A father and daughter from Fermanagh were among the 76 passengers who saw sparks flying from one of the engines of the Flybe aircraft which made an emergency landing at Belfast International Airport on Tuesday evening after one of the engines caught fire.

Dr. Colin McCaw had accompanied his daughter, Hannah to Glasgow on Tuesday where she had a university interview and were on their way home on the BE130 flight due to leave at 5.25pm for George Best Belfast City Airport when the drama unfolded.

Although he was not on the left side of the plane, Dr. McCaw said he could see sparks flying from the left engine after other passengers had voiced concerns of seeing the engine on fire.

He recalled what happened. “We were ready to leave with everyone on the plane and then we were told there was a problem with something at the front of the plane which needed pumping. Everyone got off and but we then quickly got back on again and took off.

“About 10-15 minutes into the flight, there was a noise, like the sound of the undercarriage going down or a mechanical type of noise. I looked at Hannah and we wondered what it was. People on the left side said they saw the engine on fire. I could see sparks coming out of it going directly behind it and there was a bit of a smell of burning. A guy came from the back of the plane with an airline jumper with a torch looking out of the window.

“We were told that an engine was on fire but the plane could fly on one engine and we were going to Belfast International because of the longer runway. We were coming down on one engine and the pilot told us there might be some turbulence. Once he landed, he turned the plane slightly round to the side. The engineer said originally for us to stay in our seats but then after a minute or minute and a half, he said to evacuate and the crew opened the doors. This was a Dash 8 plane and when the front door is opened, a set of steps are there. But there are no steps at the back and passengers there had a more difficult way to get off.” Dr.McCaw and Hannah had exited the plane from the forward door and steps but other passengers reported how they had to jump six to eight feet to the ground from the rear door.

“We could see fire appliances at either side of the runway and I could hear messages coming through a loudspeaker - ‘passengers circle here.’ “We were standing on a runway and it was raining heavily and we didn’t know what was happening. After five minutes or so buses came out for us and took us to the terminal and they carried out a head count. It was a bit disorganised. Some people had bags on the plane and there was a big delay. The communication was appalling.” “The airline indicated afterwards that the fire had been extinguished before landing but people said they could see sparks and the fire engine had sprayed foam on it after landing,” said Dr. McCaw.

Dr. McCaw said how a few people were told what to do next face to face.

“I heard someone say we needed to give our name, address and telephone number and I went down to the rest of the passengers to tell them.

“Eventually they had got a bus but everything was slow. We wanted to get back to Fermanagh so a few of us just got a taxi back to the City Airport where our car was and went on.” Dr. McCaw, who says he stays relatively calm in most situations, joked: “My wife flies almost every week and nothing happens and I fly just twice a year and have this.” The McCaws finally arrived home before 11pm some two and a half hours later than they should have.

In a statement, Flybe said: “The emergency services attended as a routine and precautionary measure. At no time was the safety and well-being of passengers compromised.”