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American Airlines forced to make an emergency landing over 'chemical odor' coming from passenger's carry-on bag
Five flight crew members were taken to the hospital "out of an abundance of caution"
October 13, 2022 7:10pm
Updated: October 14, 2022 4:50pm
An American Airlines flight headed to Barbados was forced to make an emergency landing on Wednesday after a “chemical odor” coming from a passenger’s carry-on bad make flight attendants sick.
American Arline’s flight 338 had left Miami International Airport for Barbados in the evening but had to return at around 9 p.m. "due to a chemical odor in the cabin caused by the contents of a customer's carry-on luggage," an airlines spokesperson said.
"The aircraft landed safely and without incident, and customers deplaned via air stairs and were bussed to the terminal," the spokesperson added.
The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the incident after the plane landed.
"HazMat units performed a hazard assessment due to reports of a strong chemical smell inside the plane," a fire department spokesperson told Insider.
Five flight crew members were taken to the hospital "out of an abundance of caution" after the airplane was evacuated.
Authorities have not yet identified what caused the strong smell that caused panic onboard the flight. However, a man onboard the flight said it smelled similar to nail polish remover.
The Boeing 737 aircraft was carrying 172 passengers and six crew members. The airline offered hotel accommodations for the passengers and was rescheduled for the next day.
