A United Airlines flight operating the long haul service between New York and Berlin has declared an emergency whilst transiting Irish airspace en route. The aircraft is currently initiating a diversion to Dublin.
United Airlines flight UA962 New York – Berlin
United Airlines flight UA962, a Boeing 767 operating the transatlantic service from New York Newark (EWR) to Berlin (BER) declared a general emergency with transponder code 7700 whilst crossing Ireland en route to Germany.
The flight is now on descent into Dublin, having crossed northern Ireland on track for Berlin. The nature of the emergency warranting the unscheduled diversion into nearby Dublin Airport is not yet known.
Diversion to Dublin Airport
Flight data shows that United flight UA962 declared a general emergency with squawk code 7700 whilst in the cruise at FL360 (36,000 feet) at 05:30 BST.
The aircraft then altered track to the south on a diversion to Dublin Airport (DUB). The flight then made a rapid descent and established for an approach to Dublin from the east.
Departure Newark and transatlantic crossing
Data shows that the long haul flight made a delayed departure out of New York Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR); showing an actual time of departure of 19:08 EDT. Scheduled departure time for the service was given as 17:40 EDT.
The flight then proceeded normally; climbing to a cruising altitude of FL360 for the easterly Atlantic crossing. Destination for the service was Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER).
The aircraft conducting this morning’s flight is a Boeing 767-300ER registered N648UA; a 31-year old widebody aircraft belonging to the US carrier United Airlines.
UPDATE @ 0920 UK time – It is confirmed that the cause of the emergency was due to a medical onboard. The aircraft continued onwards to Berlin about three hours after arrival into Dublin.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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