Plane lands short of runway in England

LONDON - A passenger jet landed short of the runway at Heathrow airport on Thursday, forcing Prime Minister Gordon Brown to delay his trip to China as his plane was on the runway waiting to take off. Three people were reported injured.


Brown's plane was not involved but those on board could see the incident in the distance.

The plane that landed short was a British Airways flight BA38 from Beijing to London, British Airways said. The Boeing 777 made an emergency landing and all passengers were evacuated, airport operator BAA PLC. Fire trucks surrounded the aircraft and emergency evacuation chutes were deployed.

Three passengers had minor injuries, London Ambulance Service said.

The Boeing appeared to have landed just yards from a busy perimeter road, Britain's Press Association reported. The impact wrecked the undercarriage and caused extensive damage to both wings, it said.

The prime minister's plane was carrying a delegation of business leaders including Virgin chairman Richard Branson.

Planes were still taking off and landing on Heathrow's northern runway, air traffic control company Nats said. Heathrow has two runways.