AN ABORTED touch down at Heathrow Airport brought a family's dream holiday to a dramatic end.

The jumbo jet was forced to take off again after its wheels had touched the runway. The Calnan family from Cumnor were among the horrified passengers to hear the pilot announce that the runway had been blocked by another aircraft.

Melanie Calnan, 35, of The Glebe, had overcome her fear of flying to visit New Zealand.

She had flown out last month with husband Bernard, manager of Calnan butchers in Didcot, and their two children Jessica, five, and Leo, three.

Melanie said: "As we came down to land at Heathrow Airport the jet's wheels appeared to have touched the runway. Then suddenly there was this terrible roar and then we were suddenly taking off again.

"Nobody seemed to know what was happening. Passengers just sat with their mouths open. Even the air hostesses were looking at each other. Then the pilot came on to announce that there had been another aircraft taxiing on the runway."

The incident happened on Sunday night with the family returning home with Singapore Airways. But Melanie said the incident had not put her off flying for life.

A spokesman for the the Civil Aviation Authority said: "It is not unusual at a busy airport like Heathrow for aircraft to have to 'go around'. It can result from other aircraft being slow to vacate the runway.

"But for a jet to have already touched down is altogether rarer, although it does happen."

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