A plane heading from Zurich to Chicago was forced to cut its journey short and land at Shannon Airport due a “potential safety risk” after a passenger got their laptop wedged in their seat.
The United Airlines flight made the diversion at around 1pm on Sunday. It’s believed that the laptop got jammed between between a seat and the fuselage of the passenger jet and could have overheated, posing a fire risk.
The plane, a Boeing 767-322, was already far out over the Atlantic Ocean when the decision was made to double back and land at Shannon Airport.
The diversion meany that the 157 passengers hoping to land at Chicago O’Hare International Airport were left waiting in Co Limerick.
It’s understood that after landing and resolving the issue the plane did not continue straight to Chicago, as the crew had run out of working hours. These are tightly monitored to prevent staff from working for too long during a flight.
A spokesperson for United Airlines said on Sunday…
