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Aer Arann: On 12th May, ATR-72-500, EI-REO operating the RE-3612/EI-3612 on behalf of Aer Lingus Regional was climbing to FL170 out of Shannon's runway 24 enroute Glasgow with 40 passengers when the crew requested to return to Shannon without requesting assistance. The controller however informed the emergency services who deployed to their stand by positions telling them that the aircraft had experienced engine problems but did not require assistance. The aircraft landed without incident on runway 24 about 20 minutes after departure. The flight was cancelled. Aer Arann reported the crew decided to return to Shannon due to an indication issue. The passengers were offered a refund or a flight from Cork to Edinburgh with bus transfers to Cork and from Edinburgh.

On 17^th July, ATR-72-200, EI-SLM operating the EI-3607 from Manchester to Shannon with 21 passengers and 4 crew, landed on Shannon's runway 24 in turbulent conditions at 10:21 and slowed, however suffered a nose gear collapse while turning off the runway onto taxiway A. The airplane came to a stop on taxiway A. No injuries occurred and the passengers disembarked onto the taxiway via stairs. The aircraft had already gone around from approach to runway 24 about 15 minutes earlier. The tower reported possible turbulence at the touch down zone of runway 24. The AAIU and Irish Aviation Authority have been informed and a report will be published in due course.

Aer Lingus: On 28th June, an unidentified Aer Lingus Airbus A320 operating from Gatwick to Knock had to divert to Heathrow according to Midwest Radio. It had departed from Gatwick at 13:14 and suffered a bird strike shortly after takeoff. However, a return to Gatwick was ruled out as the control tower at Gatwick had been struck by lightning and due to the heavy thunderstorms, the pilot decided to divert to Heathrow where it landed safely. The 99 passengers on board were accommodated on flights from Heathrow to Shannon and Dublin, and then taken by road to Knock.

Air Berlin: On 27th May, Boeing 737-76Q, registration D-ABAA was forced to divert to Leipzig with a technical problem. The aircraft was operating positioning flight AB-779X from Dublin to Budapest and was enroute at FL370 about 25nm south of Leipzig (Germany) when the crew reported they needed to shut an engine down. They diverted to Leipzig for a safe landing about 25 minutes later. In a statement the airline said that the fuel supply to an engine was "not optimal" prompting the crew to shut the engine down. It was examined whether there was a real or just an indication problem. The aircraft had departed 22:17 local on the 26th May having been repainted at Eirtech in the colours of Russian operator Yakutia to whom she to handed over to at Budapest.

Air Canada: On 14th July, Boeing 767-33A(ER), C-GHPE operating flight AC-895 from Dublin to Toronto with 234 passengers, was climbing through FL160 towards FL260 when the crew requested to level off at FL170 reporting pressurisation problems. The crew donned their oxygen masks, and requested to return to Dublin while the aircraft descended to FL080. Some 25 minutes later it landed without incident on Dublin's runway and while taxiing in the crew requested a ground air starter unit to be available due to inoperative APU. Air Canada said a pressurisation indicator light illuminated shortly after takeoff but confirmed that passenger oxygen masks did not deploy. The flight was cancelled and departed the following day.

Air France: Extensive efforts were continuing as this piece was written to identify the victims from F-GZCP, an Airbus A330-203 that disappeared over the Atlantic en route between Rio and Paris-Charles de Gaulle on 1st June 2009 while operating the AF447. In early May, the two flight recorders (the so called ‘black’ boxes) were recovered from the ocean. On 9th May, a French Navy patrol vessel reached the site and began the transport of them under judicial seal to Cayenne (French Guyana) for onward transport to Paris where they arrived on 12th May. Data recovered from the flight recorders in late May has been published by the French Accident Investigation Bureau (BEA) reveal the sequence of events leading up to the crash allowing facts to replace the assumptions that have been made over the past two years. In a statement on 27th May, Air France say that “it appears that the flight deck crew was monitoring the changing weather conditions and thus altered the flight path, that the initial problem was the failure of the speed probes which led to the disconnection of the autopilot and the loss of the associated piloting protection systems, and that the aircraft stalled at high altitude. It also appears that the flight captain quickly interrupted his rest period to regain the cockpit. The crew, made up of three skilled pilots, demonstrated a totally professional attitude and were committed to carrying out their task to the very end and Air France wishes to pay tribute to them”. The BEA did not provide extracts of the transcript for the last minute before the aircraft hit the water with its nose up but have put to rest speculation that the pilots recklessly flew into the centre of a storm cell. A fuller interim report which could say more about the causes of the crash in is promised for July. The BEA have also released an overview of the wreckage and identified parts on the ocean floor showing that debris was "relatively

concentrated".  An engine and the avionics bay of the A330 were both recovered and contained onboard computers (with long term storage devices which record the operating status). A French search team subsequently retrieved all salvageable bodies from the sunken wreckage in a painstaking operation that recovered 104 victims from a depth of some 3,900 metres (12,800 feet). The first bodies, brought up in early May, were still strapped into their airline seats and the bodies were returned to France for investigators to work on identifying them. Hopefully the bodies of the remaining Irish victims can be identified if they have been recovered. Meanwhile, in early July a French judge ordered Air France to pay a provisional payment of €126,000 in compensation to the families of each victim of the crash. The families have also filed a suit against Airbus but the court in Toulouse ruled that there was no reason for Airbus to make a provisional payment at this stage.

Air Mediterranee: On 16th June, F-GYAQ, an Air Mediterranee Airbus A321-211, operating flight DR-8230 from Nantes in France to Shannon was on approach to Shannon descending through about FL120 when the crew reported their nose gear steering had failed. They indicated that the crew expected a normal landing and would be able to vacate the runway, but would need to taxi very slowly. Nevertheless emergency services were put on standby but the aircraft landed without incident on runway 24 about 15 minutes later and as predicted it vacated the runway and taxied slowly to the apron. The aircraft was able to depart for the return flight DR-8231 after about an hour on the ground.

American Airlines: On 7th July, Boeing 757-223, N177AN of American Airlines was enroute to Manchester at FL380 over the Atlantic east of W30, when the crew needed to shut the right hand engine (RB211) down. The aircraft was operating flight AA-210 and had departed New York JFK the previous evening with 164 people on board. The flight diverted to Shannon where the aircraft landed without incident on runway 24 where emergency services found oil leaking from the engine. A replacement Boeing 757-223 was dispatched from Manchester however this aircraft, N175AN operating as the AA-9363 was itself involved in an incident on approach to Shannon. The crew was cleared to descend from FL080 to 3,000 feet (the minimum safe altitude) on QNH 1030 hPa. This was correctly read back by the crew as 3,000 feet at 1030. About five minutes later the approach controller queried the crew whether they were maintaining 3,000 feet stating the radar showed them at 2,500 feet and repeated the QNH 1030, which the crew initially read that back as QNH 1003 then reporting they were at 3,300 feet at altimeter setting 1030 hPa. At that point the controller realised the actual ambient pressure and the radar screen's setting was 995 hPa (QNH 995 hPa) triggering the comment by the pilot "that's enough to crash an airplane". The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Shannon's runway 24 another 5 minutes later. The mismatch by setting the altimeter to QNH 1030 instead of the ambient QNH 995 would have the altimeter indicate 970 feet too high and thus put the aircraft at about 2,030 feet below the minimum safe altitude, instead of 3,000 feet (hence the controller seeing them at 2500 feet when the crew got indication of nearly 3500 feet). The passengers subsequently reached Manchester after a five hour delay.

British Airways: On 7th June, Boeing 777-236 (ER), G-VIIS operating flight BA-239 from London Heathrow, to Boston diverted to Dublin with a medical emergency. The aircraft was enroute at FL400 over the Atlantic about 450nm west of Ireland, when the crew decided to turn around and divert to Dublin due to a female passenger with a cardiac history suffering from chest pains. The patient remained conscious but worsened during the diversion. The crew chose to land on Dublin's runway 10 (although runway 28 was active) and maintaining high speed as long as possible they landed without incident on Dublin's runway 10 and taxied to the apron, where medical services were already waiting. The patient was taken to a local hospital. The aircraft departed Dublin at 01.12 and arrived in Boston with a delay of some four hours. Another British Airways Boeing 777-236 (ER), G-YMMD was involved in a medical emergency on 1st June and diverted to Dublin. The aircraft was operating flight BA-95 from London Heathrow to Montreal and was enroute at FL360 over Limerick when the crew declared PAN reported a medical emergency and requested to divert to Dublin. The crew subsequently reported an elderly lady showed symptoms of a heart attack and requested an ambulance to meet the aircraft upon landing. The aircraft landed without incident on Dublin's runway 28 about 27 minutes later, a follow me vehicle waited for the aircraft at the adjacent taxiway and guided the aircraft to the apron, where paramedics took care of the lady and took her to a local hospital. The aircraft departed Dublin 2 hours after landing and reached Montreal with a delay of around four hours. On 23rd May there was another diversion, this time to Shannon when Boeing 777-236 (ER), G-VIIG’s crew reported smoke in the cockpit and cabin. The aircraft was operating flight BA-239 from London Heathrow to Boston with 221 passengers and was enroute at FL380 about 170nm southwest of Shannon (Ireland) above the Atlantic Ocean when the crew reported the incident and decided to divert to Shannon. During the descent the crew reported smoke in the cabin, too, that got increasingly worse. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Shannon's runway 24 about 30 minutes later. British Airways said the aircraft diverted as a precaution due to a technical problem that was subsequently investigated by engineers. The 221 passengers were taken to local hotels, a relief aircraft G-YMMN was dispatched to Shannon. It flew the passengers back to London Heathrow arriving at 17:00 the following day.

Cityjet: On 7th July, a Cityjet Avro RJ-85, EI-RJV operating flight WX-5222/AF-5222 on behalf of Air France, from Dublin to London City, was climbing out of Dublin's runway 28 when the crew selected the gear up but did not receive indication that all gear had fully retracted. The crew stopped the climb at 5,000 feet and entered a holding pattern to troubleshoot the problem, selecting the gear down resulted in a down and locked indication but again selecting the gear up again resulted in an unsafe indication. They advise ATC that, they wanted to return to Dublin and about ten minutes later the crew advised that the gear was fully down and locked again and they expected a normal landing. The aircraft landed without incident on Dublin's runway 28 about 40 minutes after departure.

Delta Airlines: On 7th July, Boeing 767-332(ER), N191DN of Delta Airlines operating flight DL-248 (departed 1st July) from Detroit to Amsterdam was enroute over the Atlantic when a male passenger (56) suffered symptoms of a heart attack. A cardiologist on board provided first aid and recommended diversion. The crew decided to divert to Shannon where the aircraft landed safely on runway 24. The passenger was taken to a local hospital. The aircraft subsequently reached Amsterdam with a delay of two hours. In another incident on 3rd June, Boeing 767-332 (ER), N171DZ operating flight DL-45 from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Cincinnati diverted to Shannon with a medical emergency. The aircraft was enroute over the Atlantic about 90 minutes into the crossing when the crew decided to turn around when a woman (53) suffered chest pains. The aircraft landed without incident on Shannon's runway 06 and the woman was taken to a local hospital. The flight subsequently reached Cincinnati with a delay of some six hours.

easyJet: On 10th June, an unidentified Airbus A319 made a precautionary landing at Liverpool Airport while operating a service to Belfast. The aircraft took off at 06:52, but suffered technical problems 18 minutes into the flight and the pilot made the decision to return to the airport. Crews from local emergency services including three fire engines along with ambulances and police patrols were put on stand-by. The aircraft landed without incident at 07:25 and was checked on the runway before returning to the terminal. The incident caused some disruption to the airport's schedule and some flights were cancelled.

Omega Aerial Refuelling Services: On 18th May, N707AR, a Boeing 707-321B tanker operated by Omega Aerial Refuelling Services crashed on take off from NAS Point Mugu in California at around 17:25. The aircraft went off the left side of runway 21 and into a marsh area and caught fire. The aircraft was carrying 68,000kg (150,000lb) of jet fuel and the resulting fire was extensive. A number of fire fighting agencies as well as a helicopter were called on to douse the blaze which was contained by the responding units “within a few hours” but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and is a write off. Fortunately according to a US Navy spokesperson the aircraft’s three-person crew “escaped with minor injuries”.  The aircraft was a former Pan Am aircraft and the company operate a second aircraft a former Saudi Arabian diplomatic transport, registered N707MQ in the same role as well as a McDonnell Douglas KDC-10 tanker converted from a Japan Airlines DC-10. The US National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation into the cause of the crash incident.

Ryanair: Given it status as Ireland’s largest airline it is no surprise that Ryanair aircraft were involved in a number of incidents since our last report. On 6th July, Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS, EI-ENX operating flight FR-8219 from Marrakesh (Morocco) to Bristol was enroute at FL380 about 50nm southeast of Brest (France) when the crew decided to divert there due to an unruly man on board. The aircraft landed safely about 25 minutes later, the passenger was taken into custody by French Police. Passengers reported the unruly passenger had become very disruptive and aggressive towards cabin crew, finally starting to push the flight attendants in addition to gestures of throat cutting. Two passengers assisted cabin crew in subduing him. Ryanair confirmed the diversion and pledged to support any charges brought against the passenger by French prosecution. The aircraft reached Bristol with a delay of 70 minutes. On 11th June, a medical emergency forced another Boeing 737-8AS, EI-DYH to divert to Frankfurt Hahn. The aircraft was operating flight FR-4531 from Milan Bergamo to Oslo Torp and enroute at FL400 about 90nm east of Frankfurt Hahn (Germany) when a female passenger suffered symptoms of a heart attack. This prompted the crew to divert to Hahn where the aircraft landed without incident on runway 21 about 25 minutes later. The passenger was taken to a local hospital. The aircraft departed again after about 80 minutes on the ground and reached Torp Airport with a delay of 1:45 hours. On 2nd June, EI-ENE was forced to divert to Porto with a technical problem while operating flight FR-3512 from Lanzarote to London Luton. The aircraft was enroute at FL380 about 125nm east of Porto in Portugal when the crew decided to divert to Porto due to an engine indication. The aircraft landed without incident runway 35 about 35 minutes later and taxied to the apron where passengers disembarked normally. While Portuguese media reported smoke from an engine, Ryanair said, there was no smoke, the crew received an indication suggesting a technical malfunction and diverted as a precaution. A replacement aircraft, EI-DWB, operated the flight reaching Luton around three hours behind schedule. On 1st June, EI-DYT operating flight FR-1625 from Lodz in Poland to East Midlands with 150 people on board, was climbing out on departure from Lodz's runway 25R when the right hand engine (CFM56) ingested a sea gull. The crew levelled off at FL150 where the crew evaluated the situation. When the engine developed vibrations, the crew returned to Lodz for a safe landing on runway 25R about 35 minutes after departure. A replacement aircraft, EI-DHX operated the flight reaching East Midlands with a delay of 5:45 hours.

On 20th May, EI-DLI suffered the loss of cabin pressure while operating flight FR-449 from Liverpool to Dublin. The aircraft was enroute at FL180 about 50nm east of Dublin when the crew initiated a rapid descent to FL100 reporting cabin pressure problems and subsequently entered a holding at FL060. The aircraft landed without incident on Dublin's runway 28 with emergency services on standby about 30 minutes later. There were various reports describing what happened on board. One passenger reported that the captain announced "Emergency descent! Emergency descent!" over the PA and the passenger oxygen masks were released. Another said one of the hostesses was sobbing, ‘she was in bits’, adding her behaviour frightened the staff and it made us think, ‘If she is afraid, then we really must be in trouble’. However, Cabin crew did instruct passengers how to use the oxygen masks and re-briefed the passengers on a possible water landing. A number of passengers appeared to be shocked and were taken care of by paramedics on landing. Ryanair said that the crew released the oxygen masks manually and initiated a controlled descent to an unpressurised level. The aircraft landed normally and taxied to the terminal where the passenger disembarked normally. Finally, on 14th May, EI-EBC operating flight FR-449 from Liverpool to Dublin was enroute when a passenger was hit by a bottle thrown through the cabin by another male passenger (22). The crew continued to Dublin for a safe landing, where police arrested the unruly passenger. No injuries occurred.

Sky Airlines: On 19th June, TC-SKS a Sky Airlines Boeing 737-83N(WL), registration  operating flight ZY-1722 from Dublin to Bodrum in Turkey, was climbing through FL100 out of Dublin when the crew requested to descend to 8,000 feet reporting problems with a window. The crew subsequently requested further descent and returned to Dublin's runway 28 for a safe landing about 15 minutes after departure. Following some attention, the aircraft was able to depart again after about eight hours on the ground.

Further a field: On 7th July, Boeing 737-36E, EI-DVA of Mistral Air operating flight 7M-1804 from Fuerteventura to Rome (Fiumicino) with 139 passengers, was enroute at FL320 about halfway between Mallorca (Spain) and Sardinia (Italy) when the crew needed to shut an engine down and diverted to Sardinia's Alghero Airport. It made a safe landing on runway 20 about 40 minutes later. On 27th June, an Alitalia Airbus A319-112, EI-IMF operating flight AZ-148 from Milan (Linate) to Brussels was enroute at FL340 about 50nm northeast of Geneva when one of the crew donned the oxygen mask, the crew subsequently reported a burning smell on board and decided to divert to Geneva. The aircraft landed safely on Geneva's runway 23 about 15 minutes later. Following checks the aircraft was able to continue the flight and reached Brussels with a delay of four hours. On 6th June, Vladivostok Avia Airbus A330-301, VQ-BEU (the former Aer Lingus EI-DUB) was involved in a landing incident while operating flight XF-459 from Vladivostok to Moscow Vnukovo. The aircraft with 294 passengers on board was on approach to Vnukovo's runway 01, the threshold of which was displaced by 1030 meters at the time due to works, when the incident occurred. The aircraft was apparently too low and its gear impacted a fence separating the construction zone from the runway zone. The aircraft subsequently touched down without further incident and rolled out safely. On arrival at the gate, ground staff spotted minor damage to nose and main landing gear. Rosaviatsia (Russia's Civil Aviation Authority) confirmed the crew descended prematurely causing the wheels of the aircraft but the aircraft was able to perform the return flight XF-460 on schedule some three hours after landing. Earlier on 2nd June a Transaero Airlines Boeing 767-3P6 (ER), EI-UNF was forced to divert to Rostov with a technical problem while operating a positioning flight (UN-9764) from Abu Dhabi to Moscow Domodedovo. The aircraft with four crew was enroute near Rostov when the crew decided to divert to Rostov where the aircraft landed without incident. The aircraft formerly A4O-GT, had positioned to Abu Dhabi on 10th April 2011 (flight UN-9763) supposedly for major maintenance. Russia's Emergency Ministry reported the aircraft had diverted due to failure of the left hand fuel pumps.