TWO AIRCRAFT carrying US military personnel made emergency landings at Shannon airport in less than 24 hours over the weekend.
Yesterday 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 departing the mid-west.
The plane is understood to have made a technical stop at Shannon while travelling to the US from the Middle East.
Units of the fire brigade from Shannon as well as ambulances from Ennis and Limerick were sent to the scene as back up to the airport's own fire service.
The plane touched down safely at 11.55am and was quickly surrounded by a fleet of emergency vehicles which escorted the packed jet to the terminal building where fire crews carried out an external inspection of the plane before they were stood down.
On Saturday, 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 was en route from the US via Shannon to an unknown destination thought to be in Europe. About 20 minutes before it was due to land at Shannon on a technical stop, the pilot contacted air traffic controllers and reported problems with one of its engines.
While the aircraft, which was carrying two personnel, landed on just one engine, it is understood that both engines had failed at some point prior to the landing.
The twin engine turbo-prop plane touched down safely at 12.50pm and was able to taxi under its own power to a secure area of the airport where US military aircraft receive round-the-clock protection from gardaí and Army personnel.
The aircraft remained grounded at Shannon last night. No one was injured in either incident.