An American Airlines flight to Barbados was forced to return to Miami on Wednesday evening and make an emergency landing after a strange chemical smell from a passenger’s carry-on luggage made flight attendants sick.
American Airlines Flight AA338 was midway between the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands when it suddenly turned around and returned to Miami International Airport. There he was escorted to a septic tank and “handed over” to the emergency services.
The Miami Fire and Rescue Department confirmed that it had dispatched units to the scene. Some crew members had to be taken to the hospital because they became ill.
An American Airlines spokesman said the Boeing 737 was carrying 172 passengers and six crew members. The airline said the flight was canceled due to “a chemical smell in the cabin caused by the contents of hand luggage.”
“The plane landed safely and without incident, passengers disembarked as usual,” the statement said. Some crew members were taken to a local hospital “as a precaution”.
In October 2019, the same American Airlines flight from London Heathrow to Philadelphia was forced to land at Shannon in Ireland after the crew reported a chemical smell on board so strong that two flight attendants passed out. With the help of other flight attendants, they were quickly brought to their senses, but along with several passengers, they complained of eye irritation and coughing.
The airline said at the time that a cleaning team had accidentally left a bottle of industrial-strength detergent in the toilet, tipping over during takeoff and soaking the carpets. The cleaning solution was CH2200D. Its main ingredient is ammonium chloride, which can cause symptoms such as skin and respiratory irritation.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not keep records of incidents of smoke, odor, etc., but in the 12 months from January to December 2019, American Airlines alone reported a total of 1,644 such incidents.
In January, two Alaska Airlines flight attendants were sent to the hospital in the United States after they became ill due to a strong chemical smell on a flight from Seattle to San Jose.