French repair crew on way to Cork Airport to mend aircraft after ...
Naval repair crews have been dispatched to examine the long-range French maritime patrol aircraft which was forced to make an emergency landing at Cork Airport after a mid-air incident.
CORK
Your home for the latest news, views, sports and business reporting from Cork.
It is hoped that the Atlantique 2 aircraft, which performs reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare roles, will be cleared for take-off later on Saturday.
The French Embassy confirmed on Friday evening that the aircraft was taking part in a French exercise in international waters southwest of Cork, with 18 sailors on board, when the pilot declared a pan-pan alert just before 8am after smoke was spotted on board.
A pan-pan alert is a less serious alert than a full may-day alert but the situation can sometimes deteriorate over time. The Atlantique 2 can carry torpedoes, depth-charges, mines and anti-ship weapons, but the embassy confirmed that this aircraft was not carrying any munitions.
The pilot was cleared to divert to the nearest airport, Cork Airport, and a full emergency response was activated in the city, with a fleet of fire engines, HSE ambulance, paramedics and doctors, rushing to the scene, where members of the Cork Airport police and fire service were also on standby.
The twin turbo-prop aircraft which carries an array of sensors and radar, including a boom in the tail which contains a magnetic anomaly detector for spotting submarines, touched down at 8.09am without incident.
It was then escorted to a secure parking stand to the north of the airfield, where the crew disembarked, and it underwent a full initial internal and external inspection. It is understood the source of smoke was traced to residue on a small pipe to the rear of the aircraft. There were no injuries.
A spokesman for the French Embassy said the French Navy is expected to send a maintenance crew soon so that the aircraft can return to France as soon as conditions permit.
“We are grateful for the responsiveness of the Irish authorities in welcoming this aircraft,” he said.
A spokesman for the department of transport said the AAIU contacted the crew of the aircraft and the airport authorities in Cork to establish the circumstances of the occurrence and the subsequent the diversion to Cork Airport.
“Following these initial enquiries, the AAIU determined that the occurrence did not meet the criteria for the commencement of a formal investigation,” he said.
“The AAIU will not be conducting any further investigative activities regarding this occurrence.”
A spokesperson for the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) would not be drawn on the exact location of the aircraft when the emergency was declared.
“As with any emergency situation, we provide services to assist the flight crew navigate the aircraft to the closest landing aerodrome. We confirm the aircraft landed safely at Cork Airport,” she said.
The incident caused little disruption to operations at the airport, with a scheduled Ryanair departure to Manchester delayed by just seven minutes. All flight operations had resumed as normal by 9am.
