Emergency landing after smoke in cockpit

Nice/London: A plane carrying 130 passengers on Saturday made an emergency landing in France after the crew of the Boeing 737 owned by British no-frills airline easyJet reported smoke in the cockpit, an official said.

The plane, en route from London to Cagliari in Sardinia, landed at Nice in southeastern France where a stewardess was taken to hospital for tests after suffering breathing problems, said airport spokesman Philippe Bellissent.

A second cabin crew member was taken ill but did not require hospital treatment, he added.

Firefighters said "an electrical problem" had caused the incident but that the smoke had dispersed by the time they arrived.

Passengers were due to take another flight to their destination later yesterday but the plane would not leave until the incident was properly investigated, added Bellissent.

Gatwick alert

The 10.15am Virgin Atlantic flight VS029 to Barbados returned to Gatwick at approximately 10.47am and landed with the fire brigade in attendance. The pilot had circled the Boeing 747 over Gatwick to burn off fuel before landing.

An RAF rescue helicopter, from Wattisham was sent to the airport, and a second helicopter was also dispatched from Lee on Solent Coastguard Station.

A spokesman for BAA, which operates Gatwick, said the plane had declared a problem and that the fire service had been on standby. No-one was hurt.

A Virgin spokesman denied earlier reports that an engine had caught fire.

He said the pilot had reported a "technical difficulty" and decided to execute a precautionary landing back at Gatwick.

The plane will be examined and the passengers will either continue their flight on the plane or if the problem is more serious they will be transferred to a different one, he added.

The problem comes days after the devastating air disaster in Madrid in which 153 people died. The Spanair flight was bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.