Jetblue Flight Makes Emergency Landing; ‘Twilight’ Actor Among Passengers
A Jetblue flight traveling from Long Beach Airport to Austin, Texas made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff on Thursday, after one of the plane’s engines reportedly failed, filling the cabin with smoke.
Four people were injured on Jetblue flight 1416, The Daily Mail reports, which landed at 9:30 am, around 15 minutes after takeoff. The plane carried 142 passengers and five crew members, among whom was Twilight actor Jackson Rathbone, who tweeted about the incident.
We were on @jetblue flight 1416 to Austin from Long Beach. Our right engine exploded and our cabin filled with smoke. http://t.co/QpvuAuoPDM
— Jackson Rathbone (@JacksonRathbone) September 18, 2014
Rathbone, who played Jasper Hale in the wildly popular franchise, was on flight 1416 with his wife and young son.
“The oxygen masks did not deploy, but the brave stewardesses came around and manually deployed them,” Rathbone related in one tweet. “It was rough, the plane was rocking.”
I recited the Lord’s Prayer as I held my son and my wife in my arms. The pilot came on the PA and let us know we los… http://t.co/izyrqaNRTn — Jackson Rathbone (@JacksonRathbone) September 18, 2014
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Jetblue plane, an Airbus A320, took off at 9:15 am, climbing to an altitude of 9,400 feet before circling back for the emergency landing. Long Beach Fire Department spokesman Jake Heflin noted that the pilot utilized an extinguishing agent after smoke from one of the engines filled the cabin.
JetBlue plane cabin filled w/ smoke due to engine problem. (Photo via Jared West). Emergency at Long Beach airport. pic.twitter.com/J91sbQLAt2
— Planesonearth (@Planesonearth) September 18, 2014
The pilot told passengers to brace themselves before landing the jetliner. Once on the tarmac, fire engines surrounded the Jetblue flight as passengers were evacuated by way of the plane’s emergency slides. One passenger was injured on a slide, while another complained of a shortness of breath and was hospitalized.
Watch video from passengers of #JetBlue flight that made emergency landing @ #LongBeachAirport http://t.co/S9ORHVdzbf pic.twitter.com/sUp4fsD36E
— LB Press-Telegram (@presstelegram) September 18, 2014
By 11:15, the jet had been towed off the runway. After a brief suspension of operations, flights resumed at the airport, according to officials.
Last year, another Jetblue flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport, after the aircraft encountered lightning while aloft. That plane, also an Airbus A320, experienced severe turbulence before landing as The Inquisitr noted at the time. Just days earlier, another Jetblue flight had been diverted, thanks to a bird strike which occurred shortly after takeoff.
[Image via ABC News]
