Flight bound for Raleigh returns to Denver after pilots report ‘odour’ in cockpit

The flight was diverted after the pilot reported ‘some kind of contamination in the cabin’

A Frontier Airlines flight was forced to return to Denver on Tuesday just 40 minutes after taking off (Getty Images)

A Frontier Airlines flight was forced to return to Denver on Tuesday just 40 minutes after taking off after an odour was reported in the cockpit.

The flight was bound for Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina, but was forced to divert due to a mechanical situation, Fox 31 reported.

FlightAware showed the Frontier Flight 560 Airbus A321 took off from Denver at 6.42 pm MDT and headed west before circling around to return to the airport, landing at 7.10 pm, and parking at the gate 30 minutes later.

Air traffic control recordings showed the pilot turned the plane around after reporting an odour in the cockpit.

The pilot can be heard telling the air traffic control tower the smell was not smoke, but something “indicating that we have some kind of contamination in the cabin.”

The airline said emergency medical personnel were called after the flight returned to Denver International Airport, but no passengers required medical treatment.

In a statement, Frontier Airlines said: “Earlier this evening, shortly following takeoff from Denver International Airport, Flight 560 bound for Raleigh-Durham with 160 passengers on board, experienced a fume event which prompted the flight crew to return the aircraft to Denver and request support from emergency medical personnel as a matter of precaution.

“A number of passengers and the flight crew were seen by EMS professionals at the gate. No reports of individuals requiring further medical treatment have been received.”