Smoke detected on board,
AA flight returns to PJIA
AIRPORT--An American Airlines (AA) Boeing 757 was forced to make an emergency landing here about fifteen minutes after takeoff around 4:00pm Wednesday after a piece of equipment in the cockpit malfunctioned and caused smoke to spread in the aircraft.
The Daily Herald was informed that the police and emergency services had been put on alert once word was received from the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) control tower that the flight was returning because of the problem on board.
AA St. Maarten Airport/International Security Coordinator Bennett Bell said the captain had decided to return the aircraft to St. Maarten because AA always placed emphasis on safety first.
Bell said flight 1738, destined to San Juan, Puerto Rico, had had 70 passengers on board. They were all provided with hotel accommodations last night and are now scheduled to fly out today, Thursday, on either the morning flight or again on flight 1738, which leaves in the afternoon.
It is not clear whether there was also smoke in the first class and main cabin areas as well, but the decision was made to return to St. Maarten for safety reasons. Bell said the problem had been a very minor incident and no one had been injured.
He also reported that the problem would be resolved by the airline’s local mechanics, with the repair work expected to be completed in time for the plane to leave some time this morning.
Fire Officer Marco Heusdens told this newspaper the Airport Fire Department had dealt with the emergency. He said the Fire Department had been informed, but had been told there was no need to respond, so one fire truck manned by a few fire fighters had been left on standby in the event it was needed.
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