Canaries caught in a mid-air drama

City stars Robert Earnshaw and Carl Robinson were involved in a mid-air drama yesterday after the flight carrying the Wales squad to their Euro 2008 qualifier with the Czech Republic was aborted.

The team finally arrived in Prague last night after an incident on their flight which prompted an emergency landing.

Just 30 minutes into the flight from Cardiff, and 20,000ft about south London, they were diverted back to Bournemouth.

The chartered jet's windscreen had cracked and captain David Attwood informed the passengers they would have to divert to Bournemouth International Airport, the home base for European Airways.

The plane was met by a full emergency call-out, but landed without any further problems.

Wales manager John Toshack said: "I am normally a very good flyer, but even I was unnerved by what happened.

"But the players took it in their stride, although I expect the headlines tomorrow to be 'Wales team dai-verted'."

FA of Wales spokesman Ceri Stennett said: "We all felt a jolt and could feel the plane descending quickly.

"But there was no panic, the players travel by plane a lot and they handled it well. But I must admit it was a bit unnerving.'

The Boeing 737 passengers were transferred to a replacement jet but had to spend 90 minutes on the tarmac awaiting the baggage transfer. They finally arrived in Prague three hours late.

FAW secretary general David Collins said: "I travel an awful lot by plane, but even I was a bit nervous by what happened, but the pilot and crew handled it brilliantly.'

Pilot Attwood explained: "The windscreen was shattered I am not sure by what, and that damaged the heating membrane between the glass, and when that happens there is no heat to stop the windscreen freezing over. That is why we had to divert to Bournemouth.

"These things happen very rarely, but when they do we are all trained to cope with the situation.'