Safety roundup: Aer Lingus radar failure, United odour diversion, Envoy nose wheel loss and Turkish freighter bird strike

An Aer Lingus Airbus A330-300, registration EI-EIL, operating flight EI-107 from Dublin to New York JFK (JFK), was en route at FL340 about 80nm northwest of Shannon on November 9, 2026, when the crew decided to return to Dublin. The aircraft landed safely on Dublin's runway 10L about one hour after departure. A listener on frequency reported the crew said their weather radar had failed twice: they had heard a loud clunking noise during climb out from Dublin and noticed some odour, the weather radar failed for a brief period and came back online, a burning smell occurred and quickly dissipated, and the weather radar failed a second time.

A United Boeing 787-9, registration N24993, operating flight UA-168 from Tel Aviv to Newark with 230 passengers and 13 crew, was en route at FL320 about 170nm east-southeast of Athens on November 9 when the crew decided to divert to Athens, reporting an unusual odour on board. The aircraft landed safely on Athens' runway 03R about 40 minutes later. The airline reported the aircraft diverted to Athens to address an odour in the cabin, and a replacement aircraft was being dispatched.

Two further incidents were reported on November 7. An Envoy Embraer ERJ-175, registration N225NN, operating flight AA-3618 from Cincinnati to Miami on behalf of American Airlines, landed on Miami's runway 12, slowed and turned off the runway when a nose wheel detached, and the aircraft stopped clear of the runway. The FAA reported: "LEFT NOSE WHEEL DETACHED WHILE EXITING RUNWAY." The aircraft was still on the ground in Miami about 43 hours after landing, according to the report. A THY Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-200 freighter, registration TC-LJL, operating freight flight TK-6040 from Maastricht to Istanbul, was climbing out of Maastricht's runway 21 when the crew reported the sound of an impact, some unknown object, during rotation. The aircraft stopped the climb at 5000 feet, the crew advised they were hearing unusual sounds, and the aircraft returned to Maastricht for a safe landing on runway 21 about 25 minutes after departure. Maastricht Airport reported the aircraft sustained a bird strike, and the aircraft was still on the ground in Maastricht about 22 hours after landing, according to the report. All four aircraft landed safely, and the reports did not mention injuries.