Flyuhell

Smoke on Plane Causes Dramatic Emergency Landing

 

An American Eagle flight bound for Chicago was diverted first because of bad weather, but as the plane was about to land smoke began to fill the cabin, causing passengers to jump from the aircraft after it landed safely.

All 53 people and four crew members on board made it out safely, although

American Airlines reported one passenger injured an ankle.

American Airlines Flight 3773 took off from Denver on Wednesday but was diverted to Peoria International Airport because of bad weather. As the plane approached for landing, smoke began pouring from the ceiling of the aircraft.

Many frightened passengers believed something was burning above in the plane's ceiling, but American Airlines released a statement overnight saying there was no fire on board and "we have concluded that the smoke came from a house fire near the Peoria airport ... not from the aircraft."

"Right as we are landing, we smelled burnt rubber," said passenger Rita Bentley after the emergency landing. "And I was sitting next to two flight attendants and we all said, something must be burning."

Two Australians killed in Alaska air crash

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Two visitors from Australia were killed in a fiery small plane crash in Alaska's interior, the Alaska State Troopers said on Thursday.

The Piper PA32 crashed on Wednesday about 39 miles north of Fairbanks, the troopers said. Searchers alerted to the plane's emergency located its burning wreckage late in the day and confirmed that both people aboard the plane were killed.

 

Helicopter crashes in Malaysian part of Borneo island; 3 passengers missing, pilot rescued

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A helicopter has crashed into a river in a Malaysian state on Borneo island, leaving three people missing.

A Malaysian fire department official says the chopper with four people on board went down in Sarawak state early Friday. The official, who declined to be named because he does not have the authority to speak to the media, says the German pilot was rescued by local fishermen.

 

Police could not be reached immediately for comment.

 

The Star newspaper said on its website that the pilot, 35-year-old Rko Steger, swam for four hours before he was rescued. It said a rescue team was dispatched to the area to find the three missing passengers, who were believed to be engineers.