A coffee spillage in the cockpit of an airliner flying over the Atlantic Ocean forced the plane to turn back and land in Ireland.
The hot liquid damaged an audio control panel, producing an electrical burning smell and smoke, an accident report revealed.
It created “significant communication difficulty” for the pilots flying the Condor aircraft, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.
The incident happened on February 6 and resulted in the Airbus A330 flight from Frankfurt in Germany to Cancun in Mexico being diverted to Shannon.
The smoke stopped and the fumes did not result in injuries to any of the 11 crew or 326 passengers on board.
Diversions typically cost airlines between £10,000 and £80,000 depending on the size of the aircraft and where it diverts to, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.
