An American Airlines Airbus A321-200 was scheduled to fly from Las Vegas to Charlotte, North Carolina on 9 July when the crew reported the smell of smoke in the cabin. As a result, the aircraft safety diverted to Pheonix.
Further details
American Airlines flight AA2930 took off from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas in the early hours of yesterday morning, bound for Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
40 minutes into the flight, the smell of smoke and other fumes was detected in the cabin. No clear reason for the origin of the smell was detected, so the crew made the executive decision to divert to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. According to The Aviation Herald, American’s Airbus landed safely in Phoenix approximately 30 minutes after the decision was made to divert – at around 06:30 local time.
Following the safe diversion and landing of the A321-200, which is only just over 10 and a half years old, flight attendants on board complained about headaches as a result of the smoke and mysterious fumes.
After landing, emergency services discovered that no smoke was visible from the gear. Small amounts of white smoke were seen escaping the right-hand IAE V2533 engine, and the smell of smoke and fumes was present in the cabin even after landing.
The passengers of AA2930 boarded a replacement A321-200 to resume their journey to Charlotte. The aircraft, registered N524UW, departed Phoenix four and a half hours after the initial aircraft had landed.
Flight AA2930 was inspected and deemed fit to resume service later that same day. It ended up operating a flight from Phoenix to Minneapolis at 20:46 local time.
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I don’t buy the fact that there was no trouble found. It’s an event that needs explanation. Jet engine manufacturers have a huge stake in protecting their reputation which translates into profit and loss statements from marketability of their engines.