Passengers on the Swiss flight linking Zurich to Valencia probably had a little scare this Friday. The plane, which was supposed to land in Spain at 2:10 p.m., was only able to do so at 3:46 p.m. after having to go around again and circle for 1h30 above Valencia airport. The reason? The crew triggered an emergency alert after an error message appeared.
As Flightradar24 shows, the device transmitted the transponder code 7700, which in aviation signals a “general emergency”. It could be a medical emergency, a technical problem or even a lack of fuel, as happened to a Ryanair flight connecting Pisa to Glasgow. When this code is triggered, the aircraft gets priority for landing.
Checking landing gear extension
Contacted by “20 Minuten”, the Swiss company indicated that the complications had been caused by an error message concerning one of the three hydraulic systems, the one which notably manages the extension of the landing gear.
Thus, the Airbus made a low altitude pass over Valencia airport. “This procedure made it possible to visually verify from the ground that the landing gear was correctly locked for landing,” explains Nicole Meier, spokesperson for Swiss, to “20 Minuten”.
During the entire emergency, activities at Valencia Airport, which has only one runway, were interrupted. Several flights were diverted and others delayed. Swiss specifies that no passengers were injured during this incident.
