Passengers ‘scream, cry and pray’ as smoke fills cabin on American Airlines flight
Take-off aborted following incident
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Passengers onboard an American Airlines flight reportedly screamed, cried and prayed as the plane cabin filled with smoke.
Flight 4827 was due to depart Indianapolis and fly to Chicago on the morning of Saturday 4 June when take-off had to be aborted.
Operated by regional airline Republic onboard an Embraer 170/175 aircraft, the flight was evacuated, with passengers forced to use inflatable slides.
One passenger who’d been on the plane told View from the Wing that fellow travellers were “crying and kind of screaming and you could see people praying”.
He added that they “started seeing smoke coming from the cabin door and smelled something burning.”
A Republic spokesperson said: “All customers and crew members were safely evacuated,” adding that they were “working with our partner to get customers to their destination as quickly as possible.”
Passengers were returned to the terminal to rebook on alternative flights.
The Independent has approached American Airlines for comment.
It’s not the first time smoke has scuppered a flight.
In January 2020, terrified passengers were filmed screaming and crying as thick smoke poured into the cabin of a Ryanair plane mid-flight.
Smoke began to flood the packed cabin just moments after the Boeing 737-800 took off from the Romanian capital of Bucharest, climbing thousands of feet into the air.
A woman can be heard crying in panic in footage filmed on board the aircraft, while a man can be seen grappling with an overhead compartment in an apparent attempt to release an oxygen mask.
The flight to London Stansted was grounded just minutes into the journey after the pilot declared an emergency and returned to Otopeni airport.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments