A Westhoughton woman has vowed she will never fly again following an horrific ordeal in which her holiday jet was forced into an emergency landing because of engine failure. The forced landing of the Ibiza-bound plane at Gatwick Airport was the culmination of a weekend of misery for Barbara and Maurice Hyde whose flight had been delayed for more than 23 hours. And she claims the 72 passengers on a Thomson holiday should never have been allowed to board the Britannia Boeing 757 which had already developed a fault before their flight.

She said she had been told the plane had just been cleared for the flight after undergoing tests following previous faults and that the plane was only in flight for about 20 minutes when they heard two loud bangs and one of the engines burst into flames.

The plane was diverted to Gatwick Airport where it made an emergency landing with several fire engines and other vehicles in attendance.

The passengers were able to get out of the plane normally and were offered an alternative flight to Ibiza.

But Barbara, 53, and Maurice, 50, refused and instead were brought by bus to Manchester and are now back at their home in Wingates Grove, Westhoughton.

The misery began when the couple were told their flight would be delayed because of a work to rule by Spanish air traffic controllers.

They checked in at Manchester Airport at 8.30pm on Saturday night but were told there would be a six hour delay.

Later they were told it would be 8.40am the following morning before they would get a flight.

But on Sunday they were still left waiting and were eventually sent to the Britannia Hotel in Manchester.

Mrs Hyde said: "No one from Thomson's came to tell us what was going on and we even had a sit down protest on the stairs at the hotel.

"Eventually we were told to go back to the airport but we said we wouldn't go unless there was a flight and we were told there would be a plane at 7pm.

"When we got there there was no plane. We were told it had come in the previous night with a fault on one of the engines and it was being tested.

"They assured us it was alright and we got on and it took off. Then we heard two bangs and saw flames and had to land at Gatwick.

"I was absolutely terrified, especially when I saw all the fire tenders rushing to the plane."

Mrs Hyde is looking into the possibility of claiming compensation from Thomson's or Britannia Airways.

Both Britannia and Thomson said the issue of compensation should be pursued through the couple's holiday insurance.

A Britannia Airways spokesperson said: "There is no doubt the plane was fit to fly when it left Manchester. It had been rigorously tested after a problem it had previously.

"It developed another problem on the flight, but there is no evidence at all that it was the same technical problem. Safety is always of paramount importance."

A Thomson spokesperson said: "These delays were as a result of industrial action in Spain, which was totally beyond our control and there were a great many of our customers affected.

"In accordance with our policy, we did all we could to make people comfortable and keep them up to date with what was going on."

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