Stomach-churning footage shows planes struggling to land across UK airports as Storm Gerrit brings 80mph winds
DRAMATIC footage has captured several planes struggling to land at airports across the UK as Storm Gerrit brings winds of up to 80mph.
An American Airlines Boeing 777 suffered a bumpy landing at Heathrow Airport yesterday.
The plane rocked side to side as it approached the runway. Thankfully it managed to land safely.
Meanwhile, severe winds also made it hard for several planes to land at Bristol Airport.
Footage showed pilots on one commercial aircraft attempting to land three times before managing to touch down.
Another clip showed an easyJet flight jolting back and forth as it descended.
Heathrow Airport cancelled 18 flights on Wednesday because of air traffic control restrictions including routes from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey and Manchester as well as to Barcelona, Berlin, Madrid and Paris.
The fastest recorded wind gusts so far are 86mph at Inverbervie on the north-east coast of Scotland, 84mph at Fair Isle and 83mph at Capel Curig, north Wales.
Storm Gerrit also brought plenty of rain with the Lake District’s Great Langdale Valley recording 80mm – nearly half the usual 178mm monthly rainfall for December, the Met Office said.
Meanwhile, a “localised tornado” caused significant damage to properties in Greater Manchester this morning, with thousands of homes remaining without power and travellers likely to face continued disruption.
The storm brought heavy snow across parts of Scotland which, along with high winds and heavy rain, damaged electricity networks in the country as fallen trees, branches and other debris brought down power lines.
It also wreaked havoc on the travel network with a string of train operators – including ScotRail, LNER and Avanti West Coast – suspending and terminating some services, as well as advising customers not to travel.
A “localised tornado” is believed to have caused “significant damage” to homes in Stalybridge, Tameside.
“Numerous reports” were made to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) at around 11.45pm on Wednesday, and the force declared a major incident due to the “severity” of the damage caused and the potential risk to public safety.
No injuries were reported but many residents were forced to leave their homes.
Meanwhile, police in Scotland confirmed the A9 has fully reopened in both directions and is “passable with care” after snow blocked the road between Drumochter and Dalwhinnie.
Inspector Michelle Burns, from Police Scotland’s Road Policing Unit, said: “Conditions for travel in the affected areas may be hazardous and extra caution should be exercised by all road users.
The A90 northbound has also reopened after earlier closures, but southbound lanes at Lochlands, Forfar, remain off-limits with local diversions in place.
Scotland’s rail network experienced widespread cancellations and delays with a train driver’s cabin hit by a falling tree.
Aslef Scotland confirmed the driver was uninjured and Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said passengers were also unharmed.
ScotRail suspended multiple train services until further notice, while other lines saw their timetables shelved until “a full inspection can be carried out” on the railway network.
Train operator LNER, which runs services between London and Scotland on the East Coast Main Line, also advised customers not to travel because of the weather.