A Flight To Vancouver Got Evacuated In The US After The Bathroom Smoke Detector Went Off
Nervous flyers, look away now. A Vancouver flight was evacuated after an emergency landing at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday, March 1. The Air Canada Express plane had to turn around shortly after take-off from the Californian airport when a smoke alarm went off in a bathroom at the back of the aircraft.
CTV News reported that 74 passengers and four crew members were on the plane, all of whom to be evacuated on the runway in San Francisco.
Jazz Aviation, which was operating the flight under the Air Canada Express brand, confirmed to Narcity in an email that the plane had to turn around after staff “received a rear lavatory smoke detector indication.”
A spokesperson said the crew requested “priority landing” in San Francisco and that the aircraft landed safely.
The crew then had to perform an “emergency evacuation as a precautionary measure” and passengers were transported in buses to the terminal.
However, when emergency vehicles inspected the plane on the runway, they found no fire.
One passenger spoke about the experience on Twitter on Sunday. He noted that their day had begun “with an emergency landing and jumping off the plane’s wing.”
Passengers then faced a lengthy delay and landed in Vancouver around six hours after they were initially due.
Meanwhile, News 1130 spoke to a witness named Skip who works at San Francisco International Airport.
He described people “pouring out of the wings” at the front of the aircraft, claiming that one passenger had jumped off the plane, making an eight-foot drop.
The man also posted a picture and video of the situation on Twitter.
The incident happened just days after a Sunwing flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in Memphis, Tennessee, after reports of smoke in the cabin. In that case, witnesses claimed a passenger was vaping on board the plane.
Earlier in the month, an Air Canada flight bound for Toronto had to declare an emergency after one of its wheels fell off during take-off.
Also in February, and caught on video, a flight from Madrid to Toronto had to turn around shortly after take-off following an engine issue.
Passengers faced a lengthy delay in getting home, with their replacement flight taking off shortly after 2 p.m. They landed at Vancouver’s YVR at 4:38 p.m., which is about six hours after flight AC8839 was scheduled to land.
A spokesperson added: “We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”
CBS San Francisco reported that the Federal Aviation Authority was investigating.