A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321neo was evacuated on 22nd of August after the cabin began to fill up with thick smoke and strong fumes.
The aircraft, registered N218HA, was performing flight HA47 from Oakland to Honolulu when upon descent, the aircraft filled with smoke.
Donning oxygen masks the flight crew accelerated the descent into Honolulu, stating a full-stop landing and evacuation would be conducted.
Landing successfully on runway 04R, approximately 20 minutes later, all 184 passengers and seven crew members were evacuated using escape slides.
🇺🇸 Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321 carrying 184 passengers landed safely in Honolulu after the crew declared an in-flight emergency due to reports of smoke in the cargo hold and cabin.
— air plus news (english) (@airplusnews_EN) August 23, 2019
Passengers were forced to evacuate the plane via emergency slides.pic.twitter.com/iZUIPC6ASb
Emergency response teams found no source of a fire; passengers reported the pilots initially received a cargo smoke indication, discharging the fire suppression system.
Seven passengers were taken to hospital to be assessed and/or treated for smoke related illnesses.
An investigation identified that the smoke did not come from any electronics or cargo goods, but rather a failed component in the left Pratt and Whitney PW1133G engine.
A seal had failed, resulting in oil entering the hot section and burning off. The bleed air subsequently sent the smoke into the cabin via the air conditioning system.
Interestingly the engine did not lose any performance and continued to operate normally, according to The Aviation Herald and Hawaiian Airlines.
It’s understood that the engine will undergo inspection and service before returning to the skies.
Hawaiian Airlines released a statement on the incident on social media:
Please see a final update on today’s flight #HA47 below: pic.twitter.com/L1uJLAvy4W
— Hawaiian Airlines (@HawaiianAir) August 23, 2019
Cover image sourced from Hawaii Aviation, Twitter.