Shannon Airport was yesterday at the centre of a second emergency this week, when an ATA Airlines flight transporting US soldiers to the Persian Gulf was forced to make an emergency landing.
The ATA Tri-Star aircraft was carrying 221 soldiers to Bahrain from the US and had stopped at Shannon to refuel.
It took off at 5.50 p.m. but five minutes later developed problems with one engine, forcing the pilot to shut it down and make an emergency landing back at Shannon.
Before he could land the aircraft, however, the pilot had to dump 70-80 tonnes of fuel into the Atlantic Ocean.
A spokeswoman for Aer Rianta said this was standard practice as the aircraft would have been too heavy to land with a full tank, increasing the likelihood of an explosion on touchdown.
The aircraft landed safely at 6.35 p.m. with no injuries to any of the crew or passengers. Aer Rianta had placed the emergency services on standby on the runway as part of normal procedure.
Valentia Coast Guard was alerted to the aircraft emergency almost immediately.
Last Sunday a transatlantic jet from the US was also forced to make an emergency landing at Shannon Airport with a fire in its cargo hold. US Airways flight 306 from Philadelphia to Dublin declared an emergency 400 miles west of Shannon.
There were 190 passengers and a crew of 10 on board and the jet landed safely.
ATA Airlines is one of the largest civilian passenger carriers for the US military, transporting personnel on missions to the Persian Gulf and Iraq.
A spokeswoman for Aer Rianta said the US soldiers were in civilian clothing yesterday. An investigation into the cause of the engine problem is under way.