Could Samantha Power have caught a flight to UN meeting?

In a photo provided by the United Nations, the United States new ambassador to the UN Samantha Power speaks before presenting her credentials to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Monday, Aug. 5, 2013, at UN headquarters. A former foreign policy adviser to President Barack Obama, Power succeeds Susan Rice, now the president's national security adviser. (AP Photo/Mark Garten, United Nations) (AP2013)

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power was unable to make it back from a personal trip in Ireland to New York in time for an emergency Security Council meeting, according to sources who spoke with Fox News. But a quick search of flight databases shows that on an average day, dozens of flights leave from the Emerald Isle to New York.

A simple search made by FoxNews.com showed that up to 20 flights leave from Dublin airport to JFK airport in Queens, N.Y., -- with more than half arriving well before 3 p.m. ET, which is when the Security Council meeting was held this past Wednesday.

While the meeting was publicly announced at noon that day, it is likely that Power and the Security Council had already known about the alleged chemical gas attack that occurred in Syria, leaving open the possibility that she could have caught a flight.

On an average weekday in the month of August, a total of 15 flights leave from Dublin airport to JFK, with 10 arriving before the scheduled meeting time.

At least one flight bound for JFK on Wednesday had a departure time of 11:02 am -- 6:02 am in New York -- meaning that she would have arrived by 12:45 pm that day, assuming there were available seats.

An additional three flights leave from Dublin every day, arriving in Newark-Liberty Airport in New Jersey, all of which typically arrive before noon.

It is also possible to charter a private plane for a direct flight to Teterboro airport, also in New Jersey, and a short car ride to the U.N. headquarters on the East side of Manhattan.

Hundreds of people—including many children—were reported killed in the alleged chemical attack near the city of Damascus.

U.S. officials have defended Power, saying she was able to stay in constant communication with her staff and the White House, and that she was represented by a capable diplomat in New York during the meeting.