A United Airlines flight was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing on Saturday because there was a smoke smell in the cockpit and cabin. The flight was heading to Hawaii and was forced to turn back to Los Angeles International Airport.
According to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor, United Airways Flight 1296 was forced to land about three hours after it had taken off. The flight landed without incident at 11:38 a.m. An airline spokesperson said no one was hurt, according to the New York Daily News.
The plane, a Boeing 757, was supposed to go to Kona International Airport but crew members reported that there was a smoke smell on board. They reported the smell about an hour into the flight.There were about 150 people on board the flight.
Passengers told KNX 1070 that they could smell smoke about 30 minutes into the
flight.
"It wasn't that thick to where it was coming across the ceiling and dropping down. But it was just a light haze," a passenger said. "It was never at any point so thick that you couldn't see."
"When they told us that we might have a fighter escort, and that we were going to land on some island off the coast instead of LAX, and we had life vests on, it was entirely different," another passenger said.
"We tried to keep our kids calm. Make sure that the kids had their masks on. It's scary for a little kid to be in that situation so we had to talk them into it. Unfortunately, our daughter was scared so we had to hold hers on, physically," another passenger added.
The plane was met by fire department trucks and ambulances. The emergency responders were sent as a precaution and were not needed when the flight landed.
According to an airline spokesperson, the passengers on the flight were transferred to other flights. The plane will undergo a thorough inspection by maintenance crews.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
