Jet declares mayday and diverts to Shannon after veg activates fire alarm

A fire alarm activated by a consignment of vegetables forced the crew of a transatlantic passenger jet to declare an emergency and divert to Shannon Airport.

It was the third time this year that a cargo of organic material forced flights to divert to Shannon following fire alarm activations.

The crew of Air France flight AF-733 declared a ‘mayday’ yesterday about 800km south-west of Shannon.

The Boeing 747-400 was travelling from Santo Domingo in Dominican Republic to Paris with 142 passengers and 12 crew. The jet has the capacity to carry over 420 people.

The crew made contact with the Irish Aviation Authority’s (IAA) North Atlantic Communications Service centre at Ballygirreen in Co Clare declaring a mayday and requesting permission to divert to the nearest suitable airport.

The crew confirmed they had received a fire alarm in the forward cargo hold and wished to land as soon as possible.

Authorities at Shannon Airport were alerted to the emergency about an hour before the flight was expected to arrive.

Local authority fire crews, the HSE’s National Ambulance Service and gardaí were also alerted to the incident.

The flight touched down safely at 9.55am and taxied directly to the terminal. No fire was found on board and it is thought that heat generated by a consignment of peppers activated the jet’s sensitive fire system and the automated onboard extinguishers.