A United States Air Force (USAF) military transport aircraft made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport on Saturday evening after the crew reported a problem with one of the plane’s engines.
Two Lockheed Martin HC-130J Super Hercules aircraft were due to make a technical stop at Shannon en route to Europe from Bangor in the U.S. state of Maine.
Shortly before the two turbo-prop aircraft were due to land in Shannon, the crew of the first flight, using the callsign Reach-5708, reported they were declaring an emergency. The crew told air traffic controllers they had a ‘precautionary engine shut-down’.
There were 21 personnel on board the aircraft while the crew confirmed they had to shut down their ‘No.2 engine’.
Shannon Airport’s Fire and Rescue Service was alerted and crews mobilised to holding points alongside the runway ahead of the aircraft’s arrival.
The flight landed safely at 7.04pm and was pursued along the runway by airport fire crews. The pilot confirmed the landing was normal. The aircraft was then directed to a remote stand accompanied by emergency vehicles.
The second USAF aircraft was placed in a holding pattern briefly to allow the emergency flight land and vacate the runway. Operations at Shannon were otherwise unaffected.
