An American Airlines flight preparing to take off from San Francisco, California on Friday, July 12th had to undergo an emergency evacuation as smoke emanated from a passenger’s laptop bag.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and American Airlines, the incident occurred on Friday afternoon as passengers were boarding Flight 2045 bound for Miami, Florida.
The crew swiftly assisted passengers in evacuating the Airbus A321 aircraft using emergency slides and boarding bridges, after smoke was reported in the cabin.
American Airlines stated that the smoke originated from a passenger’s laptop in their carry-on bag.
In a statement provided to the media, the airline mentioned, “Our crew promptly removed the bag, and all passengers were evacuated from the aircraft.”
“We appreciate the professionalism of our crew and apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers,” the statement continued.
Upon safely evacuating passengers back to the terminal, the San Francisco Fire Department arrived at the scene to extinguish the smoke coming from the laptop.
American Airlines reported that one person sustained minor injuries and required hospital treatment during the evacuation process.
Furthermore, two other passengers were also lightly injured, as confirmed by the San Francisco Fire Department.
It remains unclear whether the aircraft sustained any damage during the incident.
Originally scheduled to depart San Francisco for Miami at 12:15 p.m. on Friday, Flight 2045 was rescheduled to take off later in the evening after the occurrence.
Spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration, Steve Kulm, mentioned that the agency will conduct an investigation into the incident.