Gas leak sparks JWA evacuation

A gas leak that caused authorities to evacuate the terminal at John

Wayne Airport for a little more than 20 minutes late Friday was found to

have come from an external source.

Officials with the airport’s Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Unit,

along with hazardous material teams from the Orange County Fire Authority

combed the terminal and found no source of the smell inside the building,

said Ann McCarley, airport spokeswoman.

“It could have come from a vehicle driving by on the [San Diego

Freeway], but something got into the air vents,” McCarley said.

Airport authorities evacuated the terminal at 10:41 p.m. Friday,

displacing about nearly 800 passengers and airport employees outside

while they searched for the source of the smell, McCarley said.

The terminal was reopened at 11:06 p.m.

Five planes that landed during the 20-minute evacuation had to remain

on the taxiway before the terminal was reopened, McCarley said.

Friday’s evacuation didn’t affect any departing flights since all

departing flights stop at 10 p.m., she added.