A Spanair plane that was flying from Madrid to Gran Canaria in the early hours of Wednesday had to make an emergency landing at Seville airport after a fire broke out in one of its engines. The incident caused panic among the passengers. Many of them connected their mobile phones to contact their relatives and even the oxygen masks were released.
The flight was scheduled to depart from Barajas airport at around 9:30 p.m., although it was delayed by four hours. At around 1:30 a.m. this Wednesday, it was able to depart for Gran Canaria and an hour later the incident occurred. According to eyewitnesses contacted by ACN Press, a strong burning smell alarmed the passengers.
Subsequently, the fire was detected in the engine, which was perfectly visible to the travelers themselves, among whom panic spread. The masks were released amidst the screams of the passengers and some travelers connected their mobiles to try to tell what was happening.
The pilot decided, upon learning of the fire, to make an emergency landing in Seville, which finally occurred at around 3:00 a.m. The passengers, some of them very upset with Spanair for the treatment received, remained at San Pablo airport for the rest of the night, until at 8:00 a.m., Canary time, they took a flight to Gran Canaria, where the arrival is scheduled for around 10:10 a.m.
For his part, the company's spokesman, Carles Fernández, assured in statements to ACN Press that the flight left Madrid three hours late due to air congestion at Gran Canaria airport due to the work-to-rule strike by air traffic controllers. He also explained that the plane's computer system, an hour and a quarter into the flight, detected an oil leak in the engine, so the commander decided to make the emergency landing "as protocol dictates," he said.
Once in Seville, the emergency services arrived to meet the plane on the runway, although it was not necessary to use them, Fernández explained. The Spanair spokesman admitted that the passengers "did smell burning". On the other hand, he assured that the commander's report to Civil Aviation speaks of "normality" and "total collaboration from the passengers", without acknowledging that the oxygen masks were released and that there was panic on board.
Of the travelers who initially departed from Madrid, all took the flight from Seville to Gran Canaria, which is currently being carried out on another Spanair plane, except for one of them.
ACN Press
