The woman who caused the diversion of a transatlantic flight was last night on her way back to the US after being detained by gardai in Dublin.
The woman, a passenger on an American Airlines flight from Chicago to Heathrow Airport, London, was arrested after she sprayed the cabin with an anti-mugging aerosol.
The incident occurred on Saturday morning when the plane was close to the west coast of Ireland. Three flight attendants, a woman passenger and a child were injured by the spray.
The flight was diverted to Dublin. The woman was arrested i and held overnight at Santry Garda station.
It is understood that the spray used was a Mace-type substance, which temporarily blinds an assailant. The injured flight attendants and passengers also suffered nausea from the gas, which is legal in the US as an anti-mugging device, but illegal in Ireland and Britain.
The woman, a 47-year-old US citizen from Illinois, was travelling alone. According to a garda, "she just cracked up on the flight", at one stage claiming that the FBI was trying to kill her.
An Aer Rianta spokesman said the airport was advised of the alert at about 11.15 a.m. The captain planned to divert to Shannon Airport, but it was closed because of fog. Gardai were informed and the woman was arrested when the Boeing 767 with 135 passengers on board landed in Dublin.
The injured flight attendants were transferred to Beaumont Hospital and the injured passengers to Temple Street Children's Hospital.
All passengers on the flight disembarked. As a security precaution all baggage was offloaded and rechecked before being put back on board.
The five injured people were discharged from hospital a short time later and returned to the airport. The plane then continued on its journey to Heathrow at 3.30 p.m., arriving four hours later than scheduled.
The Aer Rianta spokesman said that, while not a regular occurrence, "it happens occasionally" that flights are diverted either for technical reasons or for an incident such as this.
Gardai did not bring any charges against the woman, who was believed to have been accompanied on the return flight by medical and airport personnel. It is understood that no charges will be brought by American Airlines against the woman after her return to the US.
