US-bound plane lands safely after emergency
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independe...&issue_id=9534
AN ITALIAN airliner with 305 people on board landed safely at Shannon Airport last night after it declared an emergency off the Irish Coast.
The Alitalia Boeing 777-200 ER was en-route from Rome to John F Kennedy Airport in New York when the pilot reported at 4.30pm that the cockpit windscreen had developed a fracture.
The airliner turned around and headed for Shannon as rescue and emergency services went on full alert.
Coast Guard helicopters and lifeboats were put on standby as Shannon Airport fire and ambulance services turned out and Gardai prepared to seal off the airport.
All 305 passengers safely disembarked the twin engined Boeing after it landed safely at the airport at 5.47pm. The plane is one of a new fleet of 777s which only recently started daily flights from Rome to JFK on March 1