EMERGENCY SERVICES were put on standby at Shannon and Dublin airport yesterday for a transatlantic jet, which had declared an emergency after an indicator problem showed unusual heat in the undercarriage well.
Virgin Atlantic flight VS021, which was en route from London Heathrow to Washington's Dulles International Airport, had originally intended diverting to Shannon but the crew decided to return to London.
Soon afterwards however, the crew changed its mind again and decided to divert to Dublin.
The flight departed London Heathrow for the US at 11.34am yesterday. However, a little over an hour into the journey the crew reported a problem with the undercarriage and contacted air traffic control at Shannon airport declaring an emergency.
The pilot sought permission to divert and land at Shannon so that the problem could be investigated. It is understood that the warning light indicated abnormal heating in one of the aircraft's wheel wells.
However, a short time later, the pilot contacted Dublin and notified controllers there that they wished to divert to Dublin airport.
Emergency crews were on standby for the jet when it touched down at 3.10pm. Crash crews escorted the aircraft to the terminal but no indication of a fire was found. The flight continued its journey at 6.18pm and was due to arrive in Washington almost six hours behind schedule.