In Caribbean news. A PLANE carrying terrified British tourists on a luxury Caribbean holiday came close to disaster when it landed on a runway suddenly flooded with water, mud and debris from a river that had just burst its banks.
FLOOD: Pilots were reportedly unaware a nearby river had burst its banks [ALMAY/AVIATION HERALD]
The Airbus A330 sustained “substantial damage” to its landing gear and fuselage as it touched down in the dark on Christmas Eve, according to aviation experts.
An investigation has now been launched to determine what happened.
Flight VS-98 from Tobago to Gatwick was making its final approach to St Lucia for a short stop-off to pick up extra passengers when it received landing clearance at about 7.30pm.
But according to the Aviation Herald, they were completely unaware the Petite Riviere du Vieux Fort had burst its banks.
![Debris strewn on the flooded runway caused damage to the jet's landing gear and fuselage [AVIATION HERALD]](http://www.caribdirect.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Virgin-Under-carriage.jpg "Virgin Under carriage CaribDirect")
Debris strewn on the flooded runway caused damage to the jet’s landing gear and fuselage [AVIATION HERALD]
The damage to the fuselage can be seen next to the landing gear which survived the dangerous landing [ AVIATION HERLAD]
The pilots only realised the danger as they came into land 10 minutes later.
Debris from the flood tore through parts of the outer shell of the fuselage, but the jet managed to come to a stop.
One unconfirmed report suggested the plane had hit a large luggage container that had come loose in the storm.
The damage was enough to force Virgin to cancel the final leg of the flight to Gatwick, leaving passengers stranded in storm-hit St Lucia.
The airport remained closed until Boxing Day when the passengers were able to return home.
GATWICK BOUND: Flight VS98 was stranded in St Lucia for two days before returning to Londo [ALAMY]
In a statement, she added: “Upon landing in St Lucia airport on December 24, Virgin Atlantic engineers spotted minor damage sustained to the aircraft.
“Safety and security is the airline’s first priority so an internal investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the damage.
“All passengers and crew on board are safe and well and are now home.
“We apologise for the inconvenience to their journey and thank them for their patience.
“Normal service at St Lucia has now been resumed.”
The flood in St Lucia was caused by a massive deluge in the tropical paradise where almost seven inches of rain fell in the space of 24 hours.
The storm caused widespread damage on the island, washing away roads and bridges and killing at least six people.
The St Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority could not be contacted for comment today. Article courtesy http://www.express.co.uk
