A transatlantic jet was forced to divert to Shannon Airport and land after the crew declared an emergency over Co Donegal yesterday following a fuel leak on board.
It’s the third time in less than a month that the same jet was forced to make an unscheduled landing as a result of a fuel leak.
Yesterday’s incident occurred as the aircraft was being flown back to Chicago from Manchester following Sunday’s diversion. The flight left Manchester shortly after 5pm on Sunday with a crew of 11.
The airline confirmed the flight was operating a ‘cargo sector’ so there were no passengers on board.
About 40 minutes after take-off the crew of the Boeing 767-300(ER) jet declared an emergency over Donegal.
The crew advised air traffic controllers they had a suspected fuel and wished to divert to Shannon Airport.
While routing towards Shannon, the crew downgraded their emergency to a ‘Pan-pan’ alert which is less serious.
On the ground however, airport fire and rescue crews were mobilised to positions alongside the runway ahead of the jet’s arrival.
The flight landed safely at 6.20pm and was pursued along the runway by fire crews who also accompanied the aircraft to the terminal.
Just last month, the same aircraft diverted to Shannon Airport after the crew also reported a fuel leak.