Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine Airlines plane en route to Haneda airport in Tokyo returned to Manila's airport 20 minutes into its flight Monday after the crew detected smoke in the cabin. The plane with 235 people on board landed safely and there were no reports of injury.
Firefighters and rescue teams were dispatched but the plane landed without incident.
Airline spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna said the A340-300 aircraft with 222 passengers and 13 crew members returned "due to a technical concern."
She said the plane is being examined to determine why it had to turn back and the cause of the smoke was not known.
Passengers will continue with their journey Monday afternoon on a replacement flight, she added.
Last week, a Saudi Arabian Airlines pilot mistakenly pressed a hijack warning button on a flight approaching Manila's airport, where officials mobilized commando forces and isolated the jet after it landed.
The pilot confirmed to the airport tower that he pressed the distress button but did not say until the plane was parked that it was a mistake, the airport's aviation security chief Mao Aplasca said.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
