Horrified passengers described the sound of “squealing tyres” as their plane skidded off a runway at Inverness Airport yesterday morning.
An investigation is under way after the aircraft left the runway and ended up on the grass.
None of the 48 passengers – including an infant – and four crew was injured.
It is understood that inquiries will now look at whether cold weather and ice contributed to the incident.
But it is understood that low sun may also have played a part.
Other passengers said they felt the plane was going too fast as it taxied to the terminal.
Flights in and out of the airport were halted yesterday morning as emergency services and airport workers helped passengers off the plane.
The purple-liveried Flybe Q400 Dash plane could be seen sitting with all three wheels on the grass at the south-west end of the runway.
Passengers said there was “stunned silence” when the aircraft stopped on the grass and the airport fire service dashed up.
They were taken off and transported to the terminal by bus just minutes after airport fire crews arrived on the scene. Ambulance crews, two fire service crews from Inverness, one from Nairn, the Inverness heavy rescue unit and foam unit but were not required.
A team of detectives and uniformed officers spent several hours at the airport interviewing passengers and crew.
Colin Sliamon, 47, of Manchester, said: “The landing was fine. The pilot announced that temperatures were -3C.
“We seemed to come in quite quickly but it was a normal landing.
“The pilot commenced a right hand turn on the taxiway and the wheels started to squeal and we slid off the runway.
“There was a dull silence. I don’t think anyone could believe what happened.”
Rob Davis, 36, of Belper in Derbyshire, said: “We had just landed and were at the end of the runway when the plane overshot it a bit and ended up on the grass.
“There was no warning.”
Mr Davis, who was heading to work at Mortlach Distillery in Dufftown, added: “I felt like the plane was going too fast around the corner.”
Peter Manning, 54, of Derby, said he was sleeping when the incident happened.
Mr Manning, a project manager at Glen Ord Distillery, said: “To be honest, I’ve been on rougher rides at Alton Towers.
“But the pilot did the best he could.
“There was no commotion on board. There was absolute calm and no screaming.”
Martin Brady, 46, who is from Roscommon in Ireland but lives in Manchester, said: “In my opinion, he was going quite fast and there was squealing from the tyres.
“Before we knew it we were on the grass.”
He added: “Everyone was in stunned silence, wondering what was next.”
Mr Brady, who works for Balfour Beatty at Dalwhinnie, said that he had only flown to Inverness because of the bad weather conditions last week.
He said he had been stranded in the snow on the A9 Inverness-Perth road and “decided flying was safer than driving”.