Smoke prompts evacuation of British Airways jet

[Ned]

Smoke prompts evacuation of British Airways jet

British Airways Flight 288 had to be evacuated Friday at a Phoenix, Arizona, airport after smoke was reported in the cabin.

It was headed to Heathrow. It departed the gate for the runway, but returned after passengers detected odors strong enough to cause alarm.

The Boeing 747-400 was next to the terminal when emergency chutes flew open for the 298 passengers to evacuate. About 100 firefighters and emergency medical personnel were dispatched to Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport about 8 p.m. Fifteen people suffered minor injuries.

BA's engineering staff is examining the aircraft, but they haven't yet been able to find the cause of the problem. BA staff in Phoenix is assisting stranded passengers.

[nws2002]

Based on reports from passengers it sounds like it may have been a short or overheating of IFE components.

[Ned]

Agreed, and that's what BA thinks, but so far the investigation has shown nothing, but they probably have another week to 10 days of investigation and system checks.

Originally Posted by nws2002

Based on reports from passengers it sounds like it
may have been a short or overheating of IFE components.