Aer Lingus A330 Returns to Dublin After Double Weather Radar Failure

An Aer Lingus Airbus A330-300 returned to Dublin roughly one hour after departure on Monday 9 November 2026, after its weather radar failed twice on a transatlantic crossing to New York. The aircraft, registered EI-EIL, was operating flight EI107 from Dublin to New York JFK when the crew also reported a loud clunking noise and a brief burning smell before electing to turn back.

According to The Aviation Herald, the A330 was cruising at FL340 (flight level 340, approximately 34,000 feet) about 80 nautical miles northwest of Shannon when the crew made the decision. Shannon lay closer, but the crew chose Dublin, Aer Lingus's home base, for the return landing. The widebody touched down safely on runway 10L at Dublin about 60 minutes after departure. Flightradar24 tracking data shows the full track, including the turn back over the west of Ireland.

What did the crew report?

A listener on frequency relayed the crew's account of the sequence. During the climb out of Dublin, the crew heard a loud clunking noise and noticed an odour in the aircraft. Shortly afterwards, the weather radar failed for a brief period before returning to service. Later, a burning smell occurred and quickly dissipated. The radar then failed for a second time.

Weather radar allows pilots to detect and avoid storm cells, a function with particular weight on oceanic routes where ground radar coverage ends. A repeat failure, combined with an unexplained smell, gave the crew a clear operational basis for the return rather than continuing across the Atlantic.

What is the aircraft's background?

Airbus built EI-EIL in Toulouse as MSN 893 under the test registration F-WWYK, and the airframe is now nearly 19 years old. It flies with two General Electric engines.

Qatar Airways took delivery of the jet as A7-AEM in January 2008, with a cabin of 30 business class and 275 economy seats. The Qatari carrier withdrew it from use and stored it at Doha in March 2020. Aer Lingus acquired the A330 in March 2021 and named it St. MacDara. After a period 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 does this change for the operation?

Aer Lingus engineers in Dublin must now examine the aircraft, focusing on the source of the clunking noise, the odour and the repeated radar faults. No cause has been publicly confirmed at the time of writing, and the airline has not indicated how long EI-EIL will remain out of service before returning to the transatlantic schedule.

What does this change for passengers and the network? In the near term, the grounding of a single widebody removes capacity from the Dublin–JFK route until a replacement aircraft or a repair is arranged, and the duration of any disruption depends entirely on the engineering findings.

The crew's decision nonetheless reflects sound airmanship. Rather than pressing on across the Atlantic with a faulty radar and an unexplained smell, they brought the aircraft home safely to Dublin, where the fault can be diagnosed before the airframe re-enters service.