Smoke forces Hawaii Airlines Airbus to make emergency landing

[August 23, 2019]    By Rich McKay

(Reuters) - A Hawaiian Airlines jetliner made an emergency landing in Honolulu on Thursday after smoke filled the cabin and cargo hold, and seven people were taken to hospital, officials said.

Hawaiian Airlines Flight 47, an Airbus A321neo flying from Oakland, California, was about 20 minutes away from its scheduled noon landing in Honolulu when an emergency was declared, officials said.

A seal on the left engine failed and leaked oil onto hot engine parts and the air conditioning system, the company said in an online statement early on Friday.

A representative of the airline was not immediately available to Reuters to elaborate.

After touching down, the plane deployed its slides for the 191 passengers and crew to escape, officials said.

Hawaiian Airlines said the passengers had smoke inhalation symptoms. Fire officials at the scene said that five adults and two children were taken to hospital, but that their injuries were minor, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

Airline officials issued an apology online to passengers.

(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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