No injuries but a harrowing experience for passengers
By Patti Pietschmann
On Sunday, March 28, five hours into a flight from Newark to Zurich, while over the Atlantic Ocean, a United Airlines' crew discovered that one Engine was out. Not an ideal place to be when this happens. In fact it's pretty hairy for those on board.
However, an emergency was quickly declared. Then the Boeing 767-322 (ER) jet was rerouted to Shannon Airport in Ireland where it landed safely.
It was fortunate that the plane, which carried 123 passengers and crew, was only 40-minutes west of the Emerald Island when the engine failed.
It's not clear if the engine was purposely shut down or failed but the pilot did tell air traffic that the engine was damaged. The crew send a 'squawk' radio signal that alert grounds crews and other aircraft it's making an Emergency Landing.
Naturally Shannon Airport authoritie4s implemented emergency landing operations which entails the calling for ambulances and other strategies.
The flight took off at 11.52 pm from Newark Sunday night with a delay of more than 5 hours delay. The regular departure time would have been 6.20 pm.
The flight is operated on a Boeing 767-322 ER widebody aircraft.
Luckily no injuries have been reported but of course the flight to Zurich was canceled and rescheduled.
