25th December 2022
JetBlue flight carrying 127 people from Barbados is evacuated at JFK Airport after fire started on the plane
By Daily Mail UK
More than 120 people were forced to evacuate a JetBlue flight pulling into JFK International Airport on Christmas Eve after a passenger's phone charger started smoking.
Officials from the FAA, JetBlue and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the aircraft was taxing to a gate at Terminal 5 at around 8.50pm when the phone charger caused a 'smoking condition' inside the cabin, the New York Daily News reported.
The crew of JetBlue Flight 662, which had originated in Bridgetown, Barbados, were able to quickly extinguish the fire — but seven passengers suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation and bruised elbows as they struggled to get off the flight.
First responders and the crew evacuated 67 people from the Airbus A320 jet using an emergency slide system, while another 60 passengers exited the plane normally, the Port Authority said.
Early reports had indicated that the lithium ion battery of a passenger's laptop computer had caught fire, but the FAA later corrected that information.
One passenger in the front row of the plane told CBS New York how the plane's captain sprang into action as soon as smoke filled the air.
'The captain came flying of out of the cabin,' Sean Wed said. 'He grabbed a fire extinguisher and was doing like an OJ Simpson over the seats and passengers.
'The guy was amazing and put the fire out,' he continued, adding: 'It was a complete zoo.'
In a statement to the Daily News, a JetBlue spokesperson said: 'Safety is always our number one priority, and we are investigating this incident in coordination with the FAA and NTSB.
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