Cargo jet carrying horses makes emergency landing in Shannon
A cargo jet carrying consignment of horses has made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport after the crew reported a possible fire on board.
Martinair flight 7342 was travelling from Miami in the US to Amsterdam in Holland at the time. There were six crew on board.
It’s understood there were about 50 horses on board the KLM Cargo Boeing 747-400 freighter which was operating on behalf of Martinair.
The flight was over two hours west of Ireland when the crew declared an emergency about 11.00am Irish time.
The crew reported they had a cargo hold fire indication but could not tell whether there was a fire on board. They requested permission to divert and land at Shannon.
Authorities at Shannon implemented their emergency plan which also involved alerting An Garda Síochána, the HSE and National Ambulance service as well as the local authority fire service.
Four ambulances and a rapid response vehicle were sent to the airport along with four units of the fire brigade from Shannon Town. Two additional units of the fire service were sent from Ennis to a designated holding point at Dromoland adjacent to the M18 motorway.
The flight landed safely at 1.03pm and was pursed along the runway by fire crews. The jet stopped on a taxiway so that fire officers could carrying out a visual inspection of the aircraft’s fuselage for any evident of fire.
The plane continued to a parking stand where a further inspection was carried out. It’s believed there was no evidence of fire found on board.
