The pilot of a single-engined plane flying from Canada to Britain was forced to divert to Shannon airport early this morning when he ran out of fuel.
He raised the alarm shortly before midnight, reporting problems with his fuel supply when he was 500 kilometres west of Shannon.
Rescue services were alerted, and the Kilrush, Fenit and Aran Islands Lifeboats were put on standby, as was the Shannon based Coast Guard helicopter.
However, the man managed to land the Cessna aircraft safely at around 1.30am.