Cathay Pacific Emergency Landing: Smoke Causes Chaos For Hong Kong To Los Angeles Flight

The 294 people aboard a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles experienced several minutes of terror yesterday when the aircraft suddenly filled with smoke. The plane was diverted, and the passengers were able to continue to their original destinations once another plane was made available.

According to the Guardian, the Cathay Pacific flight was diverted to the Eareckson United States military airport in Aleutian islands in Alaska on Wednesday. Flight CX884 was carrying 276 passengers and 18 crew members when the aircraft filled with smoke. Luckily, all of the passengers and crew members were fine.

Yahoo! News reports that the Captain of the plane diverted the flight to the military airport as a precautionary measure. The diversion occurred late Wednesday night, and the passengers were due to arrive in Los Angeles early Thursday morning.

The emergency landing took place in Shemya, Alaska, which is about 1,400 miles west of Anchorage and closer to Russia than the Alaskan mainland. Cathay Pacific spokeswoman Jennifer Pearson indicated that once the flight landed at Eareckson air station, the passengers were transported to Anchorage.

Another aircraft was sent from Hong Kong to Anchorage, and the passengers were then transported to Los Angeles. The Boeing 777-300ER that was initially used was checked out and found to be safe for normal operations.

Preliminary reports indicate that the Cathay Pacific jet had issues with a cooling fan that was under the cabin floor and close to the cargo compartment. While, ultimately, all of the passengers and crew members were fine, but some of the people who were on the flight have described a frightening experience.

The South China Morning Post reported that English teacher Genevieve Cousineau considered the emergency diversion of the Cathay Pacific flight to be “the most terrifying moment of my life.” It seems that many of the passengers were sleeping at the time of the diversion, and everybody awoke to the crew making an announcement about the need to divert.

Many passengers reportedly panicked and scrambled to get on life jackets. The crew is said to have been demonstrating brace positions and helping the passengers prepare in case of a water landing. Cousineau says that the plane smelled strange, and at the time the chaos started, the plane was over the ocean.

Although some of the passengers remained fairly calm, frequent traveler Bruce Kirch said that he had never been through such an alarming experience on a flight. Kirch said that he has been in the midst of some challenging scenarios, such as being in New York during the 2001 terrorist attacks, yet this emergency left him quite shaken.

Passenger Ethan Williams created a video of the moments the passengers reacted to the situation, and he shared it via his Twitter page. The crew could be seen rushing about the airplane to put things in place while they made announcements and gave instructions to the frightened passengers.

The emergency landing was clearly unsettling for everyone on the Cathay Pacific flight, and they were clearly relieved that things ultimately went as well as they did. For the most part, Cathay Pacific has a top-notch reputation, and it seems that the passengers were ultimately relieved and pleased by the manner in which the incident was handled.

[Photos Via Screencap from Ethan William’s YouTube video and Christian Keenan/Getty Images]