Blair plane scare

British Airways blamed poor lighting at Miami airport for a safety scare involving a jumbo jet carrying Prime Minister Tony Blair and his family.

There were 343 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 747 which missed a runway exit on arrival from London about 6:15 p.m. (2315 GMT) on Tuesday, prompting police cars and emergency vehicles to rush to the scene.

"The plane overshot the runway by a little bit. There was no damage to the plane and no injuries to the passengers," Miami airport spokesman Marc Henderson said. "The plane did not go into the grass but they were off the end of the runway."

A spokesman for Mr Blair said: "There was a minor incident. The prime minister is absolutely fine. They are getting on with their holiday now."

A BA spokesman said the pilot landed exactly as he should have done but the turn-off from the runway was not well lit.

"Apparently they're doing some resurfacing work and relighting, so the lighting was poor," said BA spokesman John Lampl.

Passengers told local media the airliner broke a couple of lights on the runway, and police and emergency vehicles surrounded the plane.