A transatlantic jet was forced to divert to Shannon Airport this morning after suffering a hydraulic system leak and failure off the Scottish coast.
Atlas Air flight ‘Giant’ 8327 was en route from Frankfurt Hahn airport to Portsmouth, New Hampshire in the U.S.
Shortly before 10.00am, when the Boeing 767-300(ER) jet was about 800 kilometres northwest of Donegal, the crew reported they were experiencing mechanical issues.
Later, the flight crew further advised controllers that they had “lost the majority of the fluid” from one of the jet’s hydraulic systems. The pilot also confirmed that as a result, this could potentially affect the plane’s braking capability on landing.
Shannon Airport’s fire and rescue service was placed on standby as a precaution and crews were waiting for the aircraft when it landed safely at 11am. Emergency vehicles moved into position behind the jet after it landed however crews reported there was no evidence of a fluid leak.
An inspection of the runway was undertaken to ensure there had been no contamination of the surface by hydraulic fluid.
In the meantime, the jet was able to taxi to the terminal accompanied by airport fire crews. Engineers were also standing by at the terminal to investigate the hydraulic issue.
Atlas Air is a New York based cargo and passenger charter airline that also provides services to the U.S. military flying troops around the world.