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AAIB Probes Ryanair Flight That Landed in Manchester With Only Minutes of Fuel

UK investigators opened a serious-incident case after storm-driven diversions left the PisaPrestwick service below reserve fuel on touchdown.

Overview

  • Flight FR3418 on October 3, operated by Malta Air on a Boeing 737-800 registered 9H-QBD, encountered severe weather from Storm Amy en route to Scotland.
  • The aircraft twice attempted to land at Glasgow Prestwick and once at Edinburgh before diverting about 175 miles to Manchester, according to Flightradar24 data.
  • It touched down with approximately 220 kg of fuel remaining, equating to roughly five to six minutes of flying time and far below the standard 30-minute reserve.
  • The crew declared a fuel emergency on approach to Manchester, and AAIB inspectors have begun gathering evidence for a serious-incident investigation.
  • Ryanair says it reported the incident and is cooperating fully, while passengers were bussed to Prestwick and arrived about 10 hours later than scheduled.