TUI plane failed to pressurise when pilots missed flashing warning light for 43 minutes – putting 193 at risk of passing out, report finds

A flight carrying 193 people was forced to make an emergency landing after the cabin failed to pressurise when engineers forgot to turn the system on before take off. 

The Boeing 737-8K5 took off from Manchester Airport for Kos, Greece, on 17 October 2023, but only got as far as northern Lincolnshire before the pilot was ordered to abort. 

Now a report into the incident has said that the aircraft flew for 43 minutes with a ‘CABIN ALTITUDE’ warning light flashing on the dashboard. 

Adding that the pilots both failed to spot the error during initial checks and did not follow protocols when alerted, which would have included dropping oxygen masks.

Before the flight engineers had failed to turn switches back on after routine maintenance for the engine bleed air systems, which regulate cabin pressure. 

No one was injured in the incident however passenger were put at risk of hypoxia, according to Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).  

The Boeing 737-8K5 took off from Manchester Airport for Kos, Greece , on 17 October 2023, but only got as far as northern Lincolnshire before the pilot was ordered to abort

According to a report into the incident over Lincolnshire, external, the aircraft departed ‘with the engine bleed air system off’ because the switches had been ‘incorrectly left off following maintenance activity’ the night before.

The switches were also not turned on during pre-flight checks.

‘The after take-off checklist is designed to trap the latter omission, but the incorrect switch selection went undetected by the crew,’ the report said.

MailOnline has contacted TUI for comment. 

Shockingly just three days later the same aircraft  suffered ‘catastrophic failure’ and skidded off the runway at Leeds airport during storm Babet.

The flight, that was carrying over 200 passengers from Corfu was attempting to land at the airport in strong winds when the it slipped off the tarmac and was left stranded on the grass. 

A Boeing aircraft suffered ‘catastrophic failure’ skidded off the runway in a crash at Leeds airport during storm Babet in October 2023. Pictured: Dramatic photos show the TUI aircraft lying to the side of the runway at Leeds Bradford Airport 

Following investigations, the AAIB found there were ‘no mechanical impediment’ to prevent the jet taking off from the runway 

The crew had attempted to regain control of the plane as the aircraft edged towards the outskirts of the runway, but they were unable to bring it under control.

The plane left the runway at a ground speed of around 63mph, coming to a stop six seconds later in muddy ground, approximately 500ft beyond the taxiway.

Following investigations, the AAIB found there were ‘no mechanical impediment’ to prevent the jet taking off from the runway earlier, but that the crew’s job was made significantly more difficult by ‘nosewheel juddering’.

‘There was no mechanical defect identified by the investigation which would have prevented the crew from applying the additional right rudder that was available to keep the aircraft on the runway,’ the AAIB said.

‘However, the crew’s actions may have been influenced by the nosewheel juddering’.