A Ryanair flight was forced to make an emergency diversion on its way to Manchester.
The Boeing 737 Max aircraft set off on April 24, 2025 from Venice with 191 passengers on board.
But the flight had to divert to London Stansted after pilots became concerned over a possible fuel leak.
A report published yesterday, April 9, by the Air Accident Investigations Branch looked into the incident and found: ‘The non-normal checklist was not actioned fully, with the pilots deciding not to shut down the affected engine.’
During the flight, pilots noticed a fuel imbalance developing and a cross-feeding took place to help balance things again.
But as the journey continued, the imbalance got worse and it became apparent there was a fuel leak in the engine.
‘The cabin crew did not observe any signs of fuel spray from the engine or strut,’ the report states.
The rate of the leak meant if the aircraft continued to Manchester Airport, it would use all of the additional fuel available.
A Boeing 737 Max aircraft set off on April 24, 2025 from Venice with 191 passengers on board and was set to fly to Manchester
To avoid further issues, the plane diverted to Stansted Airport and land there instead, where it was met by fire crew.
Emergency services confirmed that fuel was in fact leaking from the right engine.
The report found the pilots had completed the fuel balancing process from memory and ‘did not consider the possibility of a fuel leak’ which officials conclude ‘delayed diagnosis of the problem’.
When the leak was eventually confirmed they also did not complete the non-normal checklist fully which would have led to them closing down the leaking engine.
As a result, when the plane landed ‘the use of thrust reverse with a fuel leak increased the risk of fire’ because of fuel vapour being exposed to the hot engine.
A spokesperson for Ryanair toldthe Daily Mail: ‘Ryanair fully participated in this AAIB investigation.
‘The report issues no safety recommendations for Ryanair.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Ryanair for comment.
In another recent incident involving Ryanair, a plane became six minutes away from running out of fuel mid-air and an investigation was launched last year.
The flight was heading to Glasgow‘s Prestwick Airport from Pisa in Italy on October 3 when it issued a ‘fuel Mayday’ and made an emergency landing in Manchester.
It came as Storm Amy brought winds of up to 100mph, sparking transport chaos across the country.
The cockpit crew issued a 7700 squawk code, a general emergency alert.
The flight, operated by Malta Air on behalf of Ryanair, made several unsuccessful attempts to land at Prestwick before attempting a landing at Edinburgh Airport. This was also unsuccessful.
The plane then diverted to Manchester, where it landed safely, almost two hours after the first go-around at Prestwick.
The flight reportedly landed with just 220kg of fuel left in the tank, which is only enough for around five or six minutes of flying time.
The final reserve fuel is the absolute minimum amount of fuel an aircraft can have before it is deemed unsafe to remain in the air.
One passenger, Alexander Marchi, who arrived at his destination 10 hours later than planned, spoke to the Ayr Advertiser about his flight experience.
He said: ‘After leaving late from Pisa because of a general strike and protesters invading the tarmac at the airport we were worried that we wouldn’t get to Prestwick before the storm hit.
‘Everything was fine until we started our descent. The plane was circling a few times before trying the first time but pulling up almost immediately.
‘We were told we would try one more time or we’d have to go to Manchester. The second time it was a very bumpy ride and we almost reached the tarmac, but at the last minute we pulled up very sharply.
‘We realised how bad things had been after seeing the images after finally landing at Manchester with almost no fuel.
‘There was a lot of relief. People were wanting to get off and definitely were not up for flying any time soon.’
For the type of aircraft used for the Ryanair flight, a Boeing 737-800, the amount of fuel require cannot dip below 30 minutes of flying time.
A Ryanair spokesman told the Daily Mail: ‘Ryanair reported this to the relevant authorities on Friday (3 Oct).
‘As this is now subject of an ongoing investigation, which we are cooperating fully with, we are unable to comment.’