Delta flight from New York declares medical emergency over UK and diverts to Dublin
Delta flight DL234 from New York to Tel Aviv declared a mid-air medical emergency over the UK and diverted to Dublin Airport, where paramedics rushed a passenger to hospital
The flight was forced to divert to an airport due to the emergency (Image: AirLive)
A Delta flight was forced to declare an emergency at 36,000 feet after a passenger suffered a medical crisis. The Airbus A330 made an urgent “heavyweight” landing at Dublin Airport in the early hours of Tuesday (February 3) morning.
The plane, Delta Air Lines flight DL234, had taken off from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday (February 2) afternoon.
The aircraft was around four hours into its ten-hour journey to Tel Aviv, Israel, when the crew issued a Squawk 7700 – the universal code for a general emergency. The pilots requested an immediate diversion to Dublin after one of the 176 passengers on board experienced a “serious medical emergency”, as reported by AirLive.
The plane made a “heavyweight landing” – a term used when an aircraft lands exceeding its maximum landing weight – due to it being early in its flight path and carrying a large amount of fuel for its long haul from America to the Middle East.
The aircraft landed safely at Dublin Airport, where paramedics were waiting to rush the passenger to a nearby hospital. The current condition of the passenger is unknown, reports the Mirror.
The flight departed from Dublin at 5.03am and is expected to land in Tel Aviv at 12.13am IST. The delay was minimal as the plane’s original arrival time was scheduled for 11.49am.
This follows a Ryanair flight bound for Tenerife that was forced to return to the UK after declaring a general emergency on December 28.
The Boeing 737 MAX departed from Birmingham Airport at approximately 2.50pm and issued a 7700 squawk over Brittany, France, roughly one hour and 32 minutes into the journey.
Ryanair confirmed that flight FR1121 had experienced “air turbulence”.
Passengers informed The Aviation Herald that the turbulence struck whilst cabin service was underway, causing injuries to several individuals.
The aircraft turned around and dropped to Flight Level 100, cruising at 10,000 feet.
The plane touched down safely back at Birmingham approximately one hour and 32 minutes after takeoff.
AirLive reported that the aircraft was positioned on a remote stand to enable paramedics to treat passengers. Ryanair informed the Mirror at the time: “FR1121 from Birmingham to Tenerife on 28th December returned to Birmingham Airport shortly after take-off due to air turbulence. The aircraft landed normally before passengers disembarked and returned to the terminal, where a small number of passengers were provided with medical assistance. This flight continued to Tenerife at 21:06 local.”
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