A US-bound passenger jet diverted to Shannon Airport last night after the crew declared a medical emergency reporting a young child had fallen ill.
Turkish Airlines flight TK-29 was travelling from Istanbul, Turkey to Newark, New Jersey in the US at the time. The flight was about 250 kilometres west of Co Mayo when the crew turned around.
Shortly before 9.00pm, the flight crew made radio contract with air traffic controllers in Shannon and advised them they had a medical emergency on board and wished to divert to Shannon Airport. The crew reported that a young child had fallen ill.
The Airbus A330-300 jet made a U-turn and routed directly to Shannon Airport. In the meantime, the National Ambulance Service was alerted and paramedics sent to the airport ahead of the jet’s arrival.
It’s understood that there was a doctor on board the aircraft who assessed the child and advised the crew to divert to seek medical assistance.
The flight crew also confirmed they would be making an overweight landing so airport fire and rescue crews were placed on standby as a precaution. This was in case the jet’s braking system overheated during the emergency landing.
The jet landed safely at 10.09pm and was pursued along the runway by emergency crews who also accompanied the aircraft to the terminal. The flight was met by airport authorities and ambulance paramedics. The child was later removed by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.
The flight continued its journey shortly 12.35am (Monday) once the aircraft had been refuelled and the crew received a new flight plan.