An Allegiant Air flight from Las Vegas to Stockton, California had to turn around Saturday because of smoke in the cockpit.
Allegiant Flight 63 departed from McCarran International Airport about 11:48 a.m., according to the airport website. The plane, carrying 152 passengers and crew members, returned to McCarran shortly after takeoff, airport spokesman Chris Jones said.
“The plane wasn’t in the air very long,” he said.
Travellers on flight AA2587 claimed to see ‘white mist’ seeping from the cockpit shortly after taking off from Chicago.
According to a passenger, the smoke was coming from the plane’s cockpit.
Travellers on flight AA 2587 reported seeing white mist shortly after taking off from Chicago O’Hare airport.
Bruce Clark tweeted: “Texts from my dad enroute to Tokyo on @AmericanAir via ORD to Dallas — “smoke in cockpit, making emergency landing.”
A spokesperson for the company responded on Twitter: “We’re returning safely back to ORD, and we plan on changing out the plane. Safety is a top priority and we’ll have your dad on his way soon.”
One man whose partner was on the jet told of his relief after the plane made a U-turn and landed safely.
A Tiger Air Australia Airbus A320-200, registration VH-VNG performing flight TT-612 from Sydney,NS to Coolangatta,QL (Australia), was enroute at FL290 about 90nm southsouthwest of Coffs Harbour,NS (Australia) when the crew reported smoke in cockpit and cabin and decided to divert to Coffs Harbour. The aircraft landed safely on Coffs Harbour’s runway 03 about 20 minutes later, vacated the runway and stopped. Emergency services checked the aircraft. The passengers disembarked via stairs.
The remainder of the flight and the return flight TT-615 were cancelled.
The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for 8 hours, then positioned back to Sydney and resumed service about 19 hours after landing in Coffs Harbour.
A ground observer reported that fire engines and ambulances were alerted for smoke in cockpit and cabin and were surrounding the aircraft when the passengers disembarked via stairs.
On Jan 21st 2017 the airline reported: “A Tigerair service (TT612) from Sydney to Gold Coast diverted to Coffs Harbour Airport yesterday after an unusual odour was detected in the cabin during the flight. The flight landed safety at Coffs Harbour Airport without incident at around 1:30pm AEDT and emergency services were on standby to meet the aircraft which is standard procedure for an event of this nature. Safety is the airlines’ first priority and always comes before schedule. The airline has robust procedures in place to ensure the highest standards of safety are maintained at all times. The aircraft underwent engineers’ assessment in Coffs Harbour and was cleared to resume services, same day (8pm local time). Aircraft flew back to Sydney last night departing around 9pm (CFS) and resumed normal operations from first wave early this morning.”
It’s hard to stay cool under pressure.
Passengers on a Qantas flight were reportedly forced to evacuate the plane after it filled with smoke. One traveler took to social media and claimed that the pilot screamed at everyone to evacuate.
The flight turned around and landed back at Sydney airport shortly after takeoff, the Guardian reports. Instead of flying to their original destination of Perth, passengers instead were told to leave the plane via the emergency slides.
The decision to turn around was made after the cabin filled with smoke, which the airline says was due to a “hydraulic issue.”
A woman claiming to be a passenger on the flight shared her experience on Twitter.
“Just had to evacuate my flight to Perth after engineering issues,” wrote Ally Kemp. “Everyone had to exit the plane via slide onto Sydney tarmac after the cabin filled with smoke and the captain screamed evacuate. Terrifying.”
Another passenger on the flight, Niamh Champion, shared a similar story. According to The Sun, she said, “And next thing he (pilot) goes, ‘evacuate, evacuate, evacuate’, like in a calm but firm, loud voice. So instantly everyone jumps off and they’re thinking, ‘Oh my God. I thought there was smoke, or a fire or, you know, something was happening.’”
After explaining that she was close to the back of the plane when the incident occurred, she continued, “The hostess opened the door, bang, the chute comes down and everyone starts rushing into the aisle.”
A statement released by Qantas explained, “Qantas engineers are working to determine the cause of a hydraulic fluid leak on board one of its Airbus A330s, which resulted in an evacuation of the aircraft at Sydney Airport. QF575 departed Sydney for Perth at 8:45 a.m. this morning. Approximately 20 minutes into the flight, the Captain received a cockpit alert for one of three hydraulic systems on the aircraft. The Captain elected to return to Sydney and the aircraft landed safely shortly afterward. No emergency was declared.”
The statement continues to explain that while some passengers may have mistaken a haze that appeared in the cabin for smoke, there was no fire. It was likely caused by hydraulic fluid entering the air conditioning unit.
“Two passengers were treated for injuries sustained from using the slides and another passenger was taken to hospital as a precaution,” the statement continues. “Some customers reported sore eyes and itchy throats.”
Qantas Fleet Safety Captain Debbie Slade said: “We totally understand this would have been a very unusual and probably alarming experience for our customers, so we thank them for giving the crew their full cooperation. The crew did a great job of putting their training into action and following the procedures for a set of circumstances like this. We’ll investigate exactly what happened, including liaising with Airbus, before this aircraft is returned to service.”