Plane forced to make emergency landing at Newcastle Airport

The Eastern Airways flight, which had 11 passengers on board, was forced to land on the emergency services runway at Newcastle, with all passengers rushed to safety once the aircraft had landed.

An Eastern Airways spokesperson, said: "Shortly after flight T3 4031 landed in Newcastle and was taxiing onto the taxiway, the aircraft had a technical problem with a heating element in the first officer’s windscreen and as a precautionary measure, passengers disembarked the aircraft via the steps onto the taxiway.

"There were 11 passengers and three crew onboard the Jetstream 41 aircraft. Passengers boarded a bus to the terminal building.

"The airport fire service was in attendance but was later stood down.

"We have launched an investigation and engineers will be inspecting the aircraft.

"The safety of our passengers and crew is our primary concern."