Shannon closed after plane bursts tyre

Shannon Airport was forced to close for almost an hour and a half today after a tyre burst on a jet carrying US troops just before…

Shannon Airport was forced to close for almost an hour and a half today after a tyre burst on a jet carrying US troops just before it was due to take-off.

The incident occurred at 12.45pm as an Omni Air International aircraft was taxiing to the main runway in preparation for take-off.

The DC-10 jet was carrying almost 300 passengers and crew.

As the aircraft came to a stop at the intersection of the taxiway on the runway, the airport had to be closed until the jet could be safely removed.

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The airport was reopened at 2.10pm after ground crews had carried out a detailed inspection of the taxiway and runway and removed the debris left by the tyre.

On September 21st last, an Omni Air International DC-10 jet with 296 passengers and crew on board was forced to declare a full emergency and return to Shannon soon after the pilot reported a technical problem shortly after departing the mid west airport.

The plane had made a technical stop at Shannon earlier and had been travelling to the States from the Middle East at the time of the incident.

A day earlier, another aircraft operated by the US Military made an emergency landing at Shannon after one of its engines failed over the Atlantic. The C12 Huron, a military variant of the Beechcraft 200 series aircraft, was en route from the US via Shannon to an unknown destination thought to be in Europe when the incident occurred.

There were no injuries in either incident.