An American business jet was forced to make an emergency landing at Shannon airport yesterday after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit.
The Dassault Falcon 50 aircraft was carrying four passengers and crew. It was en route to Gander in Newfoundland, Canada, from Farnborough in England when the pilot contacted air traffic controllers at Shannon to declare an emergency and seek permission to divert to the airport.
Fire crews were standing by at Shannon when the plane touched down at 2.40pm.
The aircraft was quickly surrounded by half a dozen fire tenders. Airport crash crews were backed up by units of the fire brigade from Shannon town and ambulances from Limerick and Ennis.
A preliminary inspection of the aircraft was carried out before it was taken to a remote area for a detailed examination.
Later last night engineers were still carrying out an inspection of the aircraft and it was not clear whether the plane would be given clearance to continue its journey to Canada.