On Friday, July 12th, an American Airlines flight preparing to depart from San Francisco, California, had to undergo an emergency evacuation due to a passenger’s laptop spontaneously emitting smoke.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and American Airlines reported that around noon on Friday, as passengers were boarding the American Airlines flight 2045 bound for Miami, Florida, smoke was detected in the cabin.
The cabin crew promptly assisted passengers in using emergency slides and jet bridges to evacuate the Airbus A321 aircraft.
According to American Airlines, the smoke was emitted from a laptop in a passenger’s carry-on bag.
In a statement provided to the media, the airline stated, “Our cabin crew quickly removed the bag, and all passengers were evacuated from the aircraft.”
“We appreciate the professionalism of our crew and apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers,” the statement continued.
The San Francisco Fire Department mentioned that after passengers safely evacuated back to the terminal, firefighters arrived at the scene to extinguish the smoke from the laptop.
American Airlines reported that one person sustained minor injuries during the evacuation and needed to be taken to the hospital.
The San Francisco Fire Department also stated that two other passengers sustained minor injuries.
It is currently unclear whether the aircraft suffered any damage during the incident.
Flight AA2045 was originally scheduled to depart from San Francisco for Miami at 12:15 PM on Friday. However, following the incident, the airline announced that the flight would depart later in the evening.
Steve Kulm, a spokesperson for the FAA, stated that the organization will conduct an investigation.