Local News in Brief : John Wayne Airport : Smoke in Cargo Hold Forces Evacuation of Jet
An electrical malfunction in a cargo compartment sent smoke pouring into the cabin of an American Airlines jet before takeoff from John Wayne Airport on Thursday, forcing the evacuation of 79 passengers, authorities said.
Flight 213, bound for San Francisco, was on the runway preparing for takeoff about 9:15 a.m. when it returned to the terminal and the flight crew called for help, Orange County Fire Department spokeswoman Kathleen Cha said.
Passengers vacated the BAE-146 using stairs, Cha said. There were no injuries.
After a quick inspection, fire investigators found smoke inside the craft, but no fire and turned the plane over to airline mechanics, Cha said.
The source of the smoke was an electronic relay that malfunctioned and overheated in a forward cargo compartment, according to Cha. The aircraft has been grounded until mechanics can repair the problem.
An American Airlines spokeswoman said that delayed passengers were placed on other airlines’ flights or on American Airlines flights to San Jose with connections to San Francisco.
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