Summary
- An Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna to Chicago was diverted to Shannon Airport in Dublin resulting from a medical emergency onboard.
- The affected passenger received medical treatment upon arrival, and the remainder of the passengers continued their journey with a delay of about two hours.
- This incident comes only a day after one other flight, Air Transit Flight TS2122, also needed to divert to Shannon resulting from a medical emergency.
An Austrian Airlines Boeing 777-200 was diverted to Shannon Airport (SNN) in Dublin after a medical emergency onboard. The flight was en path to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) from the airline’s home base at Vienna Airport (VIE).
The aircraft was flying over Scotland when the crew declared an emergency. The aircraft landed safely, and the affected passenger received medical treatment upon arrival. The flight, with the remainder of the passengers, continued onto Chicago just over an hour later.
Austrian Airlines Flight OS65
On September 23, Austrian Airlines Flight OS65 operated by a Boeing 777-2Z9(ER) aircraft (Registration OE-LPA, MSN 28698), was performing a routine flight between VIE and ORD. The aircraft took off from VIE at 11:12 hours local time after a delay of nearly 45 minutes.
The plane, heading westwards, climbed to its cruising altitude of 35,000 (10,550 m), Somewhat over one hour into the flight, an unidentified passenger required medical assistance, and the pilots needed to declare an emergency.
Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that the aircraft continued to fly on the cruising altitude but dropped its speed from 500 knots (575 miles, 925 km/h) to 400 knots (460 miles, 740 km/h) while receiving diversion clearances.
The pilots needed to dump excess fuel to bring the aircraft weight down for landing. Nearly two hours into the flight, the aircraft modified heading and diverted towards Ireland. The aircraft landed safely at SNN at 13:20 hours local time, nearly three hours after departure.
Photo: Austrian Airlines
One other medical diversion at SNN
A day prior to the Austrian Airlines incident, an Air Transit Flight TS2122, en route from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) to London Gatwick (LGW), diverted to SNN resulting from a medical emergency.
The Airbus A330-300 was carrying 314 passengers and crew onboard when at the least two people required medical assistance. The affected passengers received treatment while the aircraft continued on to LGW nearly 90 minutes after landing at SNN.
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