Strong odours from laundry detergent granules were the reason for the emergency diversion of a British Airways Airbus A380 with 469 passengers and 24 crew on board. The incident occurred two hours into a transatlantic flight on July 7, when the British Airways BA-292 was en route from Washington to London, an overnight flight lasting about eight hours.
The plane, which had departed Washington just over an hour late, soon ran into another problem. Pilots detected a strong smell of laundry in the cockpit, which quickly spread to the passenger cabin. Crew members began to feel unwell, reporting dizziness, nausea and headaches, Canadian investigators said.
Given the severity of the situation, the pilots activated the “smoke, fire or fumes” menu and declared an emergency. About two hours after takeoff, they decided to divert the plane to Boston, where paramedics were ready to treat the plane.
How can Aviation HeraldDespite the incident, the jumbo jet landed safely at Boston Logan Airport. However, the flight was canceled overnight, according to information on a flight tracking site. Radarbox.
Investigators soon discovered that five pallets of scented laundry detergent had been transported in the cargo hold and that the strong odor of this shipment was the cause of the diversion.
The laundry pellets had such a strong odor that the plane remained on the ground for more than 60 hours before returning to service.
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