A JetBlue Airways flight bound for Boston has been forced to divert to Chicago due to an unidentified odour being detected in the cabin of the plane. The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) is now planning on conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the issue.
An unexpected incident on JetBlue Flight 147
JetBlue Flight 147, an Airbus A321 aircraft, had departed from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and was en route to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) when an unexplained odour was reported on board. The red eye flight was promptly diverted and later landed safely at Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) shortly after 3 a.m. on Friday, April 17, around 20 minutes after the issue was first raised.
Angela Barany, a passenger on the flight, described the incident to NewsCenter 5, speculating that the odour may have emanated from the plane’s bathroom:
“They just kept saying it’s a strong smell. And to me, if I smelled anything it smelled like bathroom, you know, like the chemicals that keep the bathroom fresh is what I was smelling.”
Initial checks upon the flight’s landing failed to uncover the source of the odour.
The plane’s passengers were subsequently deboarded and were able to take a replacement flight over six hours later at 11:45 a.m.. The replacement aircraft, another Airbus A321, undertook the journey to Boston without incident.
What happens next?
This incident is not entirely unique. Flights being disrupted due to an unexplained odour on board is a surprisingly regular occurrence; in January, a Delta Air Lines flight from Miami to Minneapolis was diverted to Atlanta after a similar report of an abnormal odour in the plane’s cabin.
The cause of the odour in this specific case has not yet been identified. However, the FAA has stated that they will be investigating the incident to uncover the source of the problem.
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