Wheel problem forces CY flight to return to base

A CYPRUS Airways aircraft heading to Thessaloniki yesterday had to return to Larnaca Airport due to a mechanical fault.

Thirty-five minutes after taking off from Larnaca, the plane’s captain made the decision to turn back after realising one of the plane’s back wheels had not returned to its correct position.

He managed to land the plane safely and nobody was hurt.

According to the state airline’s press spokesman, Kyriacos Kyriacou, the flight could have continued as normal, but the Captain was right to turn it back for safety reasons.

Technicians at Larnaca Airport attempted to repair the fault, but a test flight showed there was still a problem.

The incident left 144 passengers stranded at Larnaca Airport for hours – their flight was originally set for 12.30pm – and the airline finally managing to arrange another flight a little before 6pm.

Kyriacou said the passengers were all fine and had been properly informed on what was going on.

“Some passengers, as they were scared, decided not to travel,” he added.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.