A plane spotter could hardly believe what he was witnessing when an Aer Lingus flight landed heavily on Sunday at Belfast City Airport — skidding down the runway in a shower of sparks.

Emergency services rushed to the scene of a hard landing of an Aer Lingus plane at Belfast City Airport on Sunday. The landing gear on the twin-engine turboprop short haul craft appeared to have failed,

Runway closed and several flights redirected on Sunday after aircraft suffered a collapsed nose wheel on landing

All flights in and out of Belfast City Airport have been cancelled on Sunday evening after an Aer Lingus plane suffered an emergency incident while landing during strong winds. The plane had flown from Edinburgh to Belfast at about 16:00 GMT with four crew members but no passengers on board.

Emergency services have raced to a major incident which has closed a runway at Belfast City Airport. BelfastLive reports images from the scene appear to show fire crews on the runway dealing with an incident involving an Aer Lingus aircraft.