TERRIFIED passengers fearing for their lives climbed over seats in a desperate bid to get out of a plane as its cabin filled with smoke.
The Jet2 flight from Ibiza toEast Midlands Airport was forced to make an emergency landing because of an electrical fault.
Adrian Pepper, from Mickleover, told of "children screaming and utter panic" as he forced open a door to escape onto the wing.
The packed plane ran into difficulty on its approach to the airport.
Mr Pepper, 44, said the cabin lights went down and a man he thinks was either the pilot or co-pilot came out of the cockpit.
He said he ran down the aisle towards a member of the cabin crew, who picked up a megaphone.
Mr Pepper said: "She started trying to use it but it wasn't working.
"That's when I realised the public address system must have gone down.
"People were saying 'what's going on, what's happening?' but no-one was telling us anything."
Another passenger, Suzanne Wood, 43, of Hucknall, said: "At one point the pilot came down the cabin with a torch and opened a hatch on the floor.
"I believe he was checking the landing gear was down."
Passengers reported that the plane started to climb again just before the first attempted landing. It circled around and came back in again.
Mr Pepper said as the plane started to descend towards the runway he could see smoke in the cabin.
He said: "It was acrid smoke, you could see it in the air and smell it.
"We landed and the plane was taxied away from the airport and past some ambulances and the fire brigade.
"We came to a stop and children were screaming and people were shouting. We got the door open above the wing and got out where there were firemen waiting to help us.
"We had to do this all on our own though. There was no help from the cabin staff at all, they weren't telling anyone what was happening.
He said: "It was chaos, there was utter panic."
Mrs Wood said: "All I could think about was that the plane was going to blow and that I didn't want to die. My niece lives with us, I needed to get back for her.
"People were desperate to get out. Children were crying, other people were screaming. Some people were climbing over the seats to reach the exits."
The 16-year-old Boeing 737 plane was on its fourth flight of the day from and to East Midlands Airport on Wednesday. After it touched down, it was surrounded by emergency vehicles and about 25 firefighters.
Mr Pepper, of Girton Way, said he was astonished that after getting off the plane, passengers were made go through passport control.
"There were people there who had left their bags, belongings and passports inside the plane."
Jet2 said the flight, which landed at East Midlands Airport at 9.10pm, had a "minor electrical fault" and that it was investigating the cause.
An airport spokesman said three other flights were diverted to Birmingham and full safety procedures were followed.
Mr Pepper said staff at the airport did not seem to be aware of what had happened with the flight.
He said: "Between them staff at Jet 2 and at the airport were nothing short of inept.
"Things like making sure a megaphone was working is basic, yet clearly these things had not been tested otherwise they would have worked.
"I still can't believe how much everyone was kept in the dark in what was a situation of complete panic."
A Jet 2 spokesman said: "Following a safe arrival at East Midlands Airport we decided to disembark passengers as quickly as possible as a precautionary safety measure because a minor electrical problem led to some smoke in the cabin.
"All passengers were looked after by our airport team and a full investigation is now under way. The safety of our passengers is of paramount importance."
And a spokesman for East Midlands Airport said: "We understand that passengers who arrived on this flight would have experienced distress and the airport would like to assure passengers that safety is our first priority, in addition to passenger welfare. Extra seating and water were provided for passengers, and additional staff deployed to ensure information was communicated appropriately."
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch said that it had launched an investigation.
