An Aer Lingus Airbus A330-300 returned to Dublin on Monday 9 November 2026 after its weather radar failed twice on a transatlantic flight to New York. The crew also reported a loud clunking noise and a brief burning smell before turning back towards Dublin.
Flight EI107 Turns Back Towards Dublin
The aircraft, registered EI-EIL, was operating flight EI107 from Dublin to New York JFK. According to The Aviation Herald, the A330 was cruising at FL340 about 80 nautical miles northwest of Shannon when the crew decided to return.
Instead of continuing across the Atlantic, the crew turned the widebody around and headed east. Although Shannon lay closer, they chose to fly back to Dublin, the home base of Aer Lingus.
Weather Radar Fails Twice After Climb Out
A listener on frequency reported the crew’s account of the problem. During the climb out, the crew heard a loud clunking noise and noticed an odour in the aircraft.
Shortly afterwards, the weather radar failed for a brief period. It then came back online. Later, a burning smell occurred and quickly dissipated. The weather radar then failed for a second time.
Weather radar plays a vital role on long haul flights. It allows pilots to detect and avoid storm cells, particularly over the ocean where ground radar coverage ends. As a result, a repeat failure combined with an unexplained smell gave the crew good reason to turn back.
Safe Landing on Dublin Runway 10L
The A330 landed safely on runway 10L at Dublin about one hour after departure. The full track of the flight, including the turn back over the west of Ireland, is available on Flightradar24.
About Aircraft EI-EIL
According to Planespotters, Airbus built EI-EIL in Toulouse as MSN 893 under the test registration F-WWYK. The aircraft is now nearly 19 years old and flies with two General Electric engines.
Qatar Airways took delivery of the jet as A7-AEM in January 2008. At the time, it carried 30 business class and 275 economy seats. Qatar Airways later withdrew the aircraft from use and stored it at Doha in March 2020.
Aer Lingus then took the A330 in March 2021 and named it St. MacDara. After a spell in storage at Nîmes, it entered service with the Irish flag carrier on 8 April 2022. In June 2024, the airline reconfigured the cabin to 30 business class and 287 economy seats.
What Happens Next in Dublin
Aer Lingus engineers in Dublin will now need to examine the aircraft. In particular, they will look for the source of the clunking noise, the odour and the repeated radar faults.
At the time of writing, no cause has been publicly confirmed. Equally, it remains unclear how long EI-EIL will stay on the ground before returning to service.
Nevertheless, the crew’s decision reflects sound airmanship. Rather than press on across the Atlantic with a faulty radar and an unexplained smell, they brought the aircraft home safely to Dublin.
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