An Air Canada flight this morning made an emergency landing and evacuation after declaring a Mayday emergency, shortly after takeoff from San Francisco.
Flight AC8839 was scheduled to fly from San Francisco International Airport (SFO/KSFO) to Vancouver International Airport (YVR/CYVR).
The aircraft departed normally after a short delay. However, almost immediately after takeoff it declared a Mayday emergency. This is the highest level of emergency.
The aircraft, registered as C-FNJZ, was manufactured in June 2005 and is currently 14 years old.
A spokesperson from Jazz Aviation, which operated the flight for Air Canada under its Air Canada Express Brand, told CTV News Vancouver that the crew aboard the flight received “a rear lavatory smoke detector indication”.
The flight returned to San Francisco and the crew requested a priority landing, as per standard operating procedures.
Jazz Aviation Spokesperson
The plane landed safely and the crew performed an emergency evacuation on a taxiway. Emergency vehicles and crews met the aircraft and inspected it, but did not find any fire.
Below is a video from social media showing the emergency evacuation:
Another aircraft and crew were sent to resume the flight. A total of 74 passengers and four crew members were aboard the original plane, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said Jazz Aviation apologises to customers for the inconvenience.
Cover Image: twitter@twuskip1