A BOEING 737 cargo aircraft suffered significant damage yesterday (Tuesday) following an exceptionally heavy landing at Exeter Airport.

The West Atlantic freighter aircraft, a 737-400F registered as G-JMCY, was on the return flight from East Midlands Airport where it had picked up a its usual haul of Royal Mail cargo destined for the south west.

The incident, which happened at around 2.45am, caused no injuries to the crew of two but did cause extensive damage to the aircraft.

According to reports and images shared on social media, the aircraft experienced severe damage to the port wing and fuselage. Damage to the fuselage was to the extent that Royal Mail were initially unable to unload the mail and a post-accent inspection showed significant creasing to both sides of the fuselage.

The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it sent a team to Exeter on January 19 to begin investigating the incident.

The aircraft remains at Exeter where it is sitting at a lopsided angle on the hardstandings at the airport supported by jacks and what appears to be a giant airbag.

A replacement aircraft dispatched by West Atlantic is now continuing the nightly mail and freight service.