Plane-spotters at Faro airport this afternoon were surprised to see one of the Portuguese Air Force’s surveillance aircraft coming in to land.
This unscheduled stop was an emergency landing that has the airport authorities switching to full alert after the military pilot asked for assistance.
The C-295 Portuguese Air Force surveillance aeroplane landed safely at the civilian airport after its pilot reported an electrical problem and a smell of burning plastic.
The airport management company, ANA, said the aircraft landed at 4:49 pm, after the pilot asked to land at Faro airport due to "technical problems" on board. The same source said that the emergency plan for the airport was activated and that "airplane landed well".
An Air Force spokesman later said that CASA C-295, based at Montijo Air Base, was carrying out a maritime surveillance mission in the south of the country when an "electrical problem" and a "slight smell of burning plastic" triggered the emergency routine.
These aircraft are operated by 502 Squadron and are based at the Montijo Air Base, near Lisbon
Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Costa explained that the plane requested the landing at Faro Airport "as a precaution," stressing that everything was fine with the crew.
The C-295 has been manufactured and assembled since 1998 in the Airbus Military facilities at San Pablo Airport, in Seville, Spain.
