Pilot makes 'extraordinary' landing in storm winds

A plane passenger has told how his pilot made an "extraordinary" landing in a tiny Cessna aircraft at Edinburgh Airport during Storm Kathleen.

Gary Wilkinson, 61, captured footage of the nail-biting approach from behind the cockpit of the charted Vistajet plane.

Mr Wilkinson, from Dunfermline, and five friends were the only passengers as it made the bumpy landing in 50mph (80kph) winds at 13:40 on Saturday.

He said: "At about 100 miles out one of the pilots warned us that it might be a bit windy - and we’d be at the very limits of the plane to land.

“I don’t think I’ve seen that many 61-year-olds as happy as when we landed.

"It was all down to the skill of the pilots. It was extraordinary."

Gary Wilkinson, right, and the 'Black Runners' on board the Cessna

Mr Wilkinson's group had been flying back from a ski trip to Oslo, Norway.

The private flight was a gift from a friend to Mr Wilkinson, who has late stage prostate cancer.

"We call ourselves the Black Runners, rather ironically," he added.

"We've been doing these trips together for 20 years, but this was more adrenaline-filled than anything we’ve ever done.”

It came as Storm Kathleen brought winds of up to 90mph (145kph) to parts of Scotland.

About 140 flights at UK airports were cancelled on Saturday.

An Emirates A380 - the world's largest passenger aircraft - from Dubai to Glasgow was forced to abort its landing twice and was diverted to London Gatwick.