An Aer Lingus Airbus A330 departed from Dublin Airport heading for Boston Logan International Airport.
However, the journey was far from smooth sailing as the A330 found itself making two unexpected landings in the southern New England state of Connecticut, USA.
All bad things come in twos?
Aer Lingus flight El133 ended up making two emergency landings 115 miles from its destination on 9 August.
As noticed initially by Aerotime, EI133’s flight started off on a bad foot as it departed two hours after its planned departure. The mood on board was presumably far from rosy.
But unbeknownst to the passengers on board, once the A330 neared the East Coast at around 14:40 local time, things were about to get bumpy.
Air traffic control in Boston was forced to divert the flight to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut due to severe weather – but passing – in the area.
Aer Lingus’ A330 landed in Bradley International at 15:41 local time and waited there until they were able to continue safety to their intended destination nearby. Roughly an hour later, EI133 took off for Boston Logan International. Unfortunately, more disruption was to come for all those on board.
Minutes into the resumption of the journey, the A330’s right engine suffered a compressor stall. The crew were quickly alerted to this via staff messages, according to the Aviation Herald. The aircraft, flying low, declared an emergency and landed back at Bradley International at 17:05 local time.
In a statement, an Aer Lingus spokesperson commented on the series of unfortunate events:
“While continuing its journey from Bradley to Boston the aircraft suffered a technical issue and was required to turn back shortly after take-off. The aircraft, with 309 customers on board, landed safely at Bradley airport at 17:27 local time, and as per normal procedures was met by emergency services as a precaution upon arrival. All customers and crew disembarked safely.”
The engine issue suffered by Aer Lingus’ A330-300 is relatively uncommon, and U.S air traffic control is well accustomed to dealing with inclement weather through ground stops and diversion. So while Aer Lingus’ 309 passengers were rather unlucky with how their flight from Ireland to the States played out, at least the aircraft landed safely and nobody suffered any level of harm.
Have you ever experienced this level of disruption whilst onboard a flight? Comment below!
