A TAP Air Portugal plane was forced to make an emergency landing just minutes after taking off from Gatwick Airport as cabin crew spotted smoke pouring from an overhead locker
A plane was forced to return to a UK airport just minutes after take-off after a fire broke out on board. The crew on TAP Air Portugal TP1329, en route to Porto, issued a Squawk 7700 – the international distress signal for a general emergency.
Staff spotted smoke pouring from one of the overhead luggage compartments. Emergency services were on standby on the ground, and passengers disembarked before the aircraft was relocated to a remote stand for technical evaluation.
Portuguese air and safety investigators overnight disclosed that an e-cigarette was to blame. In a report detailing the incident, the Lisbon-based Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Accidents in Civil Aviation and Rail stated: “During the initial climb, before reaching 10,000ft, the cabin crew, who were in the rear of the aircraft, detected a strong burning smell and immediately informed the purser.
“He instructed them to contact the cockpit and reinforced the cabin crew in the area of the event. During this period, 12 passengers stood up and blocked the aisle.
“A piece of hand luggage stowed in the overhead bin was found to be on fire, the cabin crew discharged a portable fire extinguisher and rapidly extinguished the flames, following which the smoke dissipated.
“The aircraft returned to London Gatwick Airport, after approximately 14 minutes of flight, for inspection. The firefighting team inspected the affected area, and the hand luggage was removed by firefighters for further investigation.”
The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew were confirmed, and a safety inspection was carried out prior to the flight to Porto.
“The cause of the fire was identified to be related to an electronic cigarette device that was inside the hand luggage.”
Investigators also released a photo of the bag in which the e-cigarette had been stored, showing the burnt hole in its side that could have led to a catastrophe if not for the swift actions of the onboard crew.
The incident took place on February 8, but the findings of a Portuguese investigation into the cause of the fire have only just been disclosed.
It was not immediately apparent how many passengers were on board, but the Airbus A320 jet has a capacity of up to 180 people. The flight eventually touched down safely in Porto nearly three hours behind schedule after the plane was given the green light to proceed to Portugal.