- Shannon accommmodates Houston-Heathrow flight emergency
- 10 passengers & 2 crew in hospital with minor injuries
- soft tissue injuries, minor head injuries and lacerations
United Airlines flight UA-880 bound from Houston to Heathrow made an emergency landing at Shannon shortly before 6am.
See flight path here.
Boeing 767-300 N663UA with 207 passengers and 13 crew was 500 kilometres south west of Ireland when it encountered severe turbulence.
The jet diverted landed safely, was met at the terminal by ambulance paramedics and 10 passengers, three of them children, and 2 cabin crew staff have been taken to University Hospital Limerick with minor injuries.
United Airlines said the aircraft “experienced severe and unexpected turbulenc. Fourteen customers and two flight attendants have been taken to a local hospital. We wish these passengers and crew a quick recovery from their injuries,
University Hospital Limerick said: Staff at UHL were notified at approximately 5.30am of an incident aboard a transatlantic flight and that a medical diversion was being made to Shannon Airport with a possible 23 casualties. The Clinical Decision Unit and paediatric area within the ED (Emergency Department) were cleared in anticipation of patients being brought from the airport. When the aircraft landed, initial assessment was carried out by the National Ambulance Service and airport first responders. A total of 12 people were transported to hospital, nine adults and three children. Two of the 12 were crew members. The casualties in the main presented with soft tissue injuries, minor head injuries and lacerations. As of 10.30am on Wednesday, one patient was still being assessed and the remaining 11 were discharged. Hospital staff are working with the airline to transport the passengers back to Shannon Airport to continue their onward journey to London.
- Listen here to Eoghan Corry editor of Travel Extra speaking about the incident on RTE’s news at one.
