Summary
- An Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna to Chicago was diverted to Shannon Airport due to a medical emergency onboard.
- The affected passenger received medical treatment upon arrival, and the rest of the passengers continued their journey with a delay of about two hours.
- This incident comes just a day after another flight, Air Transit Flight TS2122, also had to divert to Shannon due to a medical emergency.
An Austrian Airlines Boeing 777-200 was diverted to Shannon Airport (SNN) after a medical emergency onboard. The flight was en route 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 rest 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). A little over one hour into the flight, an unidentified passenger required medical assistance, and the pilots had to declare an emergency. Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that the aircraft continued to fly at 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 had to dump excess fuel to bring the aircraft weight down for landing. Nearly two hours into the flight, the aircraft changed heading and diverted towards Ireland. The aircraft landed safely at SNN at 13:20 hours local time, nearly three hours after departure.
Paramedics and medical emergency teams were on standby at Shannon Airport for the aircraft’s arrival. The affected passenger promptly received medical treatment. The aircraft continued on to Chicago with a delay of nearly three hours.
The aircraft took off from SNN just over an hour after touchdown, at 14:28 hours. Flight OS65 landed in ORD nearly seven hours later with no further incident. A representative from the airline stated Simple Flying in an email statement,
Yesterday’s [September 23] OS65 had to divert to Shannon, Ireland, due to a medical incident. After the affected person received medical treatment, the other passengers and crew were able to continue their flight to Chicago, where the aircraft landed with a delay of about two hours.
The 26-year-old aircraft was first delivered to Lauda Air in September 1997. Austrian Airlines inducted the jet in September 2005 and has been flying it since.
Photo: Austrian Airlines
Another 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 due to a medical emergency.
The Airbus A330-300 was carrying 314 passengers and crew onboard when at 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.
What are your thoughts on the Austrian Airlines’ diversion to Shannon Airport? Tell us in the comments section.
Sources: Austrian Airlines, Aviation Source; FlightRadar24.com