The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) has commenced an investigation into an incident involving a transatlantic jet which was originally due to divert to Shannon Airport but rerouted to Dublin instead.
On Sunday night, Swiss flight LX-52 was travelling from Zurich, Switzerland to Boston in the United States and was about 500 nautical miles (926 kilometres) west of Ireland when the crew declared an emergency. There were 205 passengers and 12 crew on board the Airbus A330-343 jet.
The crew issued a Pan-pan radio call and informed air traffic controllers of their situation. A Pan-pan is not as serious as a May-day call but still indicates an urgency on board.
The flight advised controllers that there was smoke reported in the passenger cabin. A portable power bank was reported to have become lodged in the reclining mechanism of a passenger’s seat and began to emit smoke.
The flight crew originally notified air traffic controllers of their intention to divert to Shannon Airport when authorities began to response was initiate a response plan.
Emergency procedures had begun to be put in place at Shannon which involved notifying Clare County Fire and Rescue Service; National Ambulance Service, the HSE and An Garda Síochána.
Units of the fire brigade from Shannon and Ennis stations were mobilised to the airport ahead of the aircraft’s planned arrival.
The crew of flight LX-52 later confirmed they would like instead to divert to Dublin Airport where the jet touched down safely shortly after 8.00pm. The flight was met on arrival by emergency services.
The Air Accident Investigation Unit of the Department of Transport confirmed this evening: “The AAIU has commenced an investigation into a diversion to Dublin by a Swiss-registered Airbus A330-343 aircraft which reported smoke in the cabin from a portable power bank that had lodged in a passenger seat reclining mechanism. There were no injuries reported to the AAIU.”