Entebbe Bird Strike

A medical emergency prompted Thomas Cook flight TCX 4125 to make an unscheduled landing in Lisbon, Portugal on January 10.

The flight was en-route from Fuerteventura to Birmingham when a 79-year-old female passenger Hilda Holland became ill after getting hit by a falling shoe. According to Hilda’s husband John,“The woman sitting behind Hilda decided to get a cardigan from the locker but she pulled a shoe out with it…That came down and hit her on the back of the head and the ear….Ten minutes later I looked over and she was shaking and pale…I thought she wasn’t going to make it, I had never seen her like that.”

The Airbus A321-211 made a safe emergency landing and the couple was rushed to a hospital.

They left the hospital next day and were transported to Birmingham through another flight.

An airline spokesperson said, “Our operations control centre contacted Mr and Mrs Holland at the hospital and offered assistance within a few hours of their arrival… Mr Holland was grateful for the call and advised that he would make arrangements through his insurers and we ensured he had direct contact number for Thomas Cook… Our welfare team have been in touch with the Hollands following their return and we hope Mrs Holland makes a full recovery.”