An American Airlines flight was evacuated after the crew reported smoke in the cabin as the plane taxied at San Francisco International Airport, according to airport officials.
The airline said the smoke came from a laptop in a passenger’s bag.
Jan Jankai, a passenger on the flight with his father, told ABC News when they boarded the plane, “it smelled like burned cables” and proceeded to get stronger.
Soon after, Jankai said they saw a huge flame from below his father’s seat and on all sides. He said the smoke got so intense “We thought we would pass out.”
“We tried to get up but were already buckled in,” Jankai said, adding he and his father quickly unbuckled their seats and tried to go to the back emergency exit.
Jankai’s father, who was seated above the passenger’s bag that was on fire, said he threw the bag out of the emergency exit door.
American Airlines said one person suffered minor injuries, but SFO said three people experienced minor injuries while evacuating through the emergency slides. No one needed medical transport, according to the airport.
In this screen grab from a video, an American Airlines plane is shown after it had to be evacuated when smoke was reported in the cabin while the plane was taxiing, at San Francisco International Airport, on July 12, 2024.
KGO
The airline said some passengers evacuated via the emergency slides and others deplaned from the jet bridge.
The fire department responded to put out the smoke source.
The Airbus A321 was set to depart for Miami at the time.
Source Agencies
