FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After surviving a terrifying emergency landing, the passengers of a JetBlue flight were in South Florida on Saturday.
Their flight was bound Friday for Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport landed in Charleston, South Carolina, after reports of smoke in the cabin, JetBlue spokesman Brian Mazur said in an email.
According to a statement from the airline, Flight 913 from White Plains, New York, diverted to Charleston because of the smoke.
The airline said the flight safely landed at 10:30 a.m.
All 122 passengers and crew members were evacuated from the plane.
Local 10 News reporter Michael Seiden spoke to one of the passengers on the phone, who praised the crew for keeping everybody calm and informed.
"About 10 o'clock, the airplane started to get a little stuffy and hot and they said, 'We have a problem with the air conditioning,'" Frank Migliorelli said. "And then, all of a sudden, you started smelling like an industrial or an electrical kind of burning and they said, you know, there's obviously a problem."
Migliorelli said the airline is working to get all passengers rebooked onto other flights to Fort Lauderdale. He said he was pleased with how the crew handled the situation.
"The crew was amazing," Migliorelli said. "The captain got on and just said, 'Look, we know this plane, we're trained on this plane, we know how to handle emergencies, we have this under control.' And, you know, the crew was up and down the aisles talking to everybody and just saying, 'Everything's going to be alright, everything's good. If you have any questions, whatever.' Nobody panicked."
Airline officials said no one was injured during the incident.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport officials said the passengers are expected to arrive in South Florida later in the day.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.