JetBlue flight makes emergency landing after cargo hold smoke alert

A JetBlue flight made an emergency landing in Kansas on Saturday after pilots were alerted to smoke in the cargo hold, but an inspection revealed it was a false alarm, the airline said.

The plane descended safely and landed “without incident,” the airline said in a statement.

Flight 1189 was en route from New York to San Diego when the pilot announced an alert had been received for a fire or smoke in the baggage hold, according to passenger Seth Odell. The Salina Airport Authority said there were about 130 people on board.

“The pilot got on the intercom and let us know he saw a smoke alarm in the cargo hold,” Odell said. “Some passengers also reported a loud bang, so we descended very quickly and landed at the very small airport in Salina.”

Odell shared that it was only about 10 minutes between the pilot’s announcement and the eventual landing in Kansas.

“Everybody was starting to panic,” Odell said. “Some were crying. It was a little intense for a few minutes. The crew did a great job of getting everybody organized really quickly, and once we were on the ground, everybody was just ecstatic.”

Salina firefighters responded to the airport around 6:20 p.m. Central Time, and the plane landed about 10 minutes later, according to Salina Fire Battalion Chief Derrick Herzog. The department helped unload the 130 people, including passengers and staff. No injuries were reported.

Herzog said there were no major problems with the plane, but warning lights had come on in the cockpit. The problem appears to be electrical, but firefighters are still waiting for engineers to investigate, he added.

The National Transportation Safety Board did not respond to a request for comment. Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate the incident.

Odell said the plane’s pilot told passengers there was no indication of a real fire once they landed.

“It appears they said a fire extinguisher was used in the loading area, but they are not sure if there was a fire,” he said.