A former League of Ireland footballer has told of the terrifying moment his flight to Dublin diverted to Belfast for an emergency landing.
Irish Mirror columnist Stuart Byrne was travelling from Washington Dulles International Airport to Dublin last Friday when the incident occured.
Byrne explained he knew something wasn't right when approaching Dublin Airport after the long-haul flight.
He told: "We were coming in to land on Friday morning but I noticed we started to circle Dublin not just once but twice.
"I could make out Howth, Blanchardstown. I might have even seen John Delaney running through the bushes in Abbotstown, but I couldn’t be sure.
"Anyway, it didn’t take a genius to realise that we were not on a normal flight pattern and sure enough the pilot starts speaking to us.
"He said the plane did not have full functionality of its flaps and that Dublin airport’s runway was too short and too wet to land.
"He informed us that we were diverting to Belfast. And then he goes and tells the crew to prepare for an emergency landing!
"Well, you can imagine the scenes. I’ll take a guess and say that you, like me, pay little or no attention to the safety demonstration before take off.
"People were literally demanding it be shown again. The crew came out and kept reiterating the brace position to us."
The Belfast Telegraph reported that the United Airlines flight was carrying 166 passengers on board with a crew of seven.
Byrne, who won league titles with Shelbourne and Drogheda United, described the horrifying moment before they eventually landed safely in Belfast.
"Descending into Belfast, it felt like we were an F-14 Tomcat. We were rattling in at some speed and battered into the ground a couple of times on landing.
"There was no sudden shunt or sign of stopping, we just kept going. I half expected to end up in Fermanagh.
"Ten units of the fire brigade were waiting for us on the runway when we eventually stopped.
"My poor wife was waiting to collect me in Dublin airport and hadn’t a clue what had happened."
"All in all it was one hell of an unnerving experience."
The Irish Mirror have contacted United Airlines for comment.
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