Transatlantic jet makes emergency landing at Shannon amid blaze fear
A transatlantic jet has made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport after the crew reported a possible fire on board.
Air France flight AF-733 was enroute from the Dominican Republic to Paris at the time. There were 156 passengers and crew on board.
The Boeing 747-400 jet was about an hour south west of Shannon when the crew declared a mayday emergency and requested to divert to Shannon.
Airport emergency services, backed up by local authority fire crews and HSE ambulances, were standing by for the flight when it landed shortly before 10am.
The passengers had to be disembarked by portable stairs before fire crews could enter and check the cargo hold.
No fire was found while the jet’s built-in fire extinguishers had activated in the hold. No one was injured during the incident.
It is now believed that heat from a cargo of vegetables activated the jet’s sensitive fire system.
The RNLI lifeboat at Kilrush along with the Shannon based Irish Coast Guard helicopter were also on standby during the emergency.
"We were told there was an Air France 747 in an emergency landing situation – and we launched and we waited on the river," Kilrush Lifeboat station operations manager Pauline Dunleavy told Clare FM.
"Thankfully, at approximately 10am, the flight made a good landing in Shannon Airport.
"It all worked out finer and we were stood down."
Passengers are being cared for in the terminal while arrangements are being made to get them to Paris.
It is not clear whether the jet will continue the journey or if another aircraft will be used.
