Plane makes emergency landing after suspected fire, passengers evacuated

Anthony Zurita
Updated
Air Transat Flight 942 was on its way from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when it reported a possible fire in the cargo hold and was diverted to Newark.

NEWARK — Smoke on an aircraft led to 189 passengers being evacuated from an aircraft in an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday morning, a Port Authority official said.

The incident prompted the airport to shut down all runways briefly.

The pilot of the Florida-bound Air Transat flight requested the emergency landing in Newark Liberty International Airport at about 8:20 a.m., said Steve Coleman, a Port Authority spokesperson. The plane landed safely.

The passengers were evacuated by the emergency chutes once the plane landed.

There was a minor injury were two minor injuries that were unrelated to the smoke. One person who complained of pain from sliding down the chute. Another person suffered a panic attack, Coleman said. The passengers were being treated as a precaution.

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The passengers were scheduled to stay in a terminal waiting area until another flight could be coordinated, Coleman said.

The Air Transat 492 flight departed from Montreal Canada and was headed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a tweet from the Federal Aviation Administration said.

As of 9:44 a.m. all flights were resumed.

This article originally appeared on North Jersey Record: Plane makes emergency landing after suspected fire, passengers evacuated