A private jet has diverted to Shannon Airport this afternoon after the crew reported a fuel leak over the North Atlantic.
The Bombardier Global 7500 jet had departed Luton Airport in England at around 12.55pm with four persons on board. The flight was destined for an airport in the United States.
The aircraft had climbed to an altitude of 43,000 feet and was about an hour into its journey, around 200 kilometres northwest of Donegal, when the crew contacted air traffic controllers in Shannon.
The crew advised controllers that they had an issue on board which they were discussing with their company but confirmed it was likely they would need to divert to Shannon.
It’s understood the crew detected a fuel leak from the jet’s left wing which had lasted for about 15 minutes. By the time crew had commenced their diversion to Shannon, the leak had ceased.
The crew later confirmed they wished to divert to Shannon and advised controllers they would need to burn off aviation fuel before commencing their approach. This was to ensure they touched down within safe landing weight limits
The flight descended to 14,000 feet and entered a holding pattern over East Clare for around 50 minutes.
The crew commenced their approach to Shannon and landed safely at 3.33pm. Shannon Airport’s fire and rescue crews were placed on standby as a precaution.
After the jet had landed, an inspection of the runway determined that there had been some contamination as a result of the fuel leak. Airport crews carried out a cleaning operation to clear the fuel and just a few departing aircraft faced a short delay.
