Transatlantic jet in emergency landing at Shannon as smoke fills cockpit

A TRANSATLANTIC jet was forced to declare an emergency and divert to Shannon Airport late on Monday night after both the cockpit and passenger cabin filled with smoke.

British Airways flight BA239, with 221 passengers onboard, was travelling from London Heathrow to Boston.

The Boeing 777-200 jet was flying at 38,000 feet and was about 300 kilometres south-west of Shannon when the crew reported smoke in the cockpit, declared an emergency and requested permission to divert to Shannon.