(Trinidad Guardian) A “technical issue” forced a Caribbean Airlines flight to be diverted to Norfolk, Virginia, in the United States yesterday.
BW520 departed Piarco at 11. 48 pm and was en route to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport when the issue developed.
Guardian Media under-stands 111 passengers and crew were on board.
Data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24.com shows that at 3.34 am, the aircraft slowed from 427 knots to 309 knots and descended from 38,000 feet to 27,000 feet in the space of eight minutes.
This is most likely as a result of crew action, as this is the standard operat-ing procedure in such a situation. The aircraft continued its descent and landed safely at 4.36 am in Virginia.
In a press release issued at 11.20 am, Caribbean Airlines confirmed the incident saying: “The air-craft is on the ground at Norfolk and the airline is in contact with all persons affected by the disruption. The passengers have been accommodated and arrangements are being made to get them to their final destinations.”
The flight was on a 23-year-old Boeing 737-800NG aircraft, registered as 9Y-GEO.
