A US-bound passenger jet diverted to Shannon Airport on Sunday 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 250km west of Co Mayo when the crew turned around.
Shortly before 9pm, 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 were sent to the airport ahead of the jet’s arrival.
It is understood 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, 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 taken to University Hospital Limerick by ambulance for treatment.
The flight continued its journey at 12.35am on Monday, once the aircraft had been refuelled and the crew received a new flight plan.
