A JetBlue Airways plane was forced to make a sudden emergency landing in Kansas on Saturday evening after the pilot was alerted to possible smoke in the cargo bay, leaving some passengers in tears, authorities said.
JetBlue said in a statement Sunday that the transcontinental flight had taken off from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City and was bound for San Diego, but was rescheduled to land in Salina, Kansas, at about 6:30 p.m. after what turned out to be a false alarm.
“JetBlue Flight 1189 was diverted to Salina, Kansas after the pilot was alerted to possible smoke in the cargo hold, then descended safely and landed without incident,” a JetBlue spokesperson said in an email.
“Upon inspection, it was determined that the smoke indication given to the pilot was a false indication.”
According to Flightradar24 data, the plane descended more than 30,000 feet within 10 minutes of landing at the airport. Reported by KAKE.
But tension and fear were palpable among the roughly 130 passengers on board as the Airbus A320 was still in the air.
Passenger Seth O'Dell said the pilot announced over the intercom that there was a smoke alarm in the cargo bay. According to NBC News.
“Some passengers reported hearing a loud noise, so we made a rapid dive and landed at the very small airport in Salina,” he recalled, noting that there were just 10 minutes between the pilot's report and the landing.
“So obviously everybody was starting to panic,” O'Dell was quoted as saying.
“Some people were crying. It was a bit tense for a few minutes. The crew did a fantastic job getting everyone in order quickly and, naturally, everyone was ecstatic once we got on the ground.”
Salina Fire Battalion Chief Derrick Herzog said there were no major issues with the plane, but that there may have been an electrical problem, the media reported.
