Ashley Olsen was on a grounded flight that saw its engine catch on fire while taking off from Dallas.
The grounded flight was American Airlines flight 2421, which was leaving Dallas-Fort Worth when a failure occurred, Perez Hilton reported . The report initially said it was an engine fire that filled the plan’s cockpit with smoke, but American Airlines later clarified that this was not the case.
A representative for the airline said:
“[The plane] returned to the gate prior to departure because of an electrical odor in the cockpit. There was no engine fire. We swapped planes and the flight departed DFW at 1:24 p.m.”
Olsen was among the passengers forced back to the ground as the plane’s pilots quickly brought the flight back to the terminal. All 200-some passengers, including Ashley Olsen, were safely guided off of the grounded plane.
The Dallas Morning News noted that a “media hysteria” broke out after news spread of Ashley Olsen and the grounded flight. Airline Biz Blog writer Terry Maxon noted that other than the news that Ashley Olsen was on the grounded flight, there wasn’t that much unusual about the incident:
“That’s a not uncommon reason why flights are grounded or make emergency landings, and usually nothing comes of it. The mechanics come on board and find the cause, or they don’t find any problem and return the airplane to regular service.”
Acknowledging the media firestorm that resulted from the non-fire, Maxon noted that the Dallas Morning News also got the facts wrong about Ashley Olsen on the grounded plane. The paper initially reported that there was an engine fire, relying on a report from TMZ.
