A pilot who was flying a Flybe plane from Birmingham to Belfast City Airport was approaching the runway to land in what was described as 'windy' conditions.

The 46-year-old pilot had checked that his prosthetic left arm was securely attached to the landing gear before he came in to land.

The pilot then disconnected the autopilot and was flying the aircraft manually.

He began the ‘flare’ manoeuvre, which is done just before touchdown and it was during this that his limb became detached, making him lose some control over the aircraft.

The pilot said that he considered letting his co-pilot take over, but given the time restraints decided to move his right hand over to regain control.

He landed the plane heavily but none of the 47 passengers aboard were injured and the plane remained undamaged.

The events of the accident were published in an Air Accidents investigation report this morning. 

In a statement Flybe said that the pilot in question was a ‘most experienced and trusted pilot’ and that safety checks had been implemented to ‘ensure this type of incident could not happen again’.