Taoiseach 'perfectly fine' after bird strike forces his flight to return to Ireland
Picture Airport Dublin Airbus Lingus At Aer An File
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has paid tribute to the Aer Lingus captain and staff for successfully landing his airplane back in Dublin after a bird strike caused engine trouble.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner at Dublin Airport, Mr Martin said he was “perfectly fine” after the bird strike forced his plane to turn back en route to New York less than an hour into the flight.
He said: “I commend and pay tribute to Captain Karl Quinn and the staff for their professional handling of the aircraft.”
Mr Martin said it was important that safety was the primary concern of the captain and team.
Flight 107 between Dublin and New York was about 40 minutes into the flight and had risen to over 12,000 feet when Captain Quinn informed passengers of the need to return to Dublin.
It had departed from Terminal 2 shortly before 5pm.
The plane, an Airbus A330-300, experienced vibration in its right engine and struggled noticeably as it climbed into the air.
Passengers were told that an object had hit the fan blade in the right engine, which caused the vibration.
While A330 aircraft are long-range aircraft, they have only two engines and it would be unacceptably risky to cross the Atlantic with such a major issue on one engine.
As a result, Captain Quinn made it clear that the nearly full flight would have to return to Dublin.
In a statement, Aer Lingus said the flight to New York JFK had to returned following a bird strike shortly after take-off.
The airline apologised to customers for the inconvenience.
Mr Martin and his party of officials were travelling in business class to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
The plane successfully landed back at Dublin Airport at 6.18pm.
Mr Martin and his party were escorted into the terminal by his garda security team.
Those close to the Taoiseach said “there was not a bother on him,” as the drama unfolded.
A new plane was called up to fulfill the flight and it departed at 8.30pm.
The Taoiseach is due to fulfill two full days of engagements at the United Nations in New York.
He is due to address the General Assembly on Thursday.