American Airlines Flight Makes Emergency Stop After Smoke was Detected in Cockpit Area; Turned Out to be Passenger Smoking in Bathroom

An American Airlines flight had to make an emergency stop after smoke was detected in the cockpit area of the plane. It turned out to be a person smoking in the bathroom.

On Tuesday, Boeing 737-800 was on its way to North Carolina from Miami when it was forced to make an emergency stop in Norfolk after fumes were spotted coming from the plane. All crew members and the flight’s 131 passengers were all safely removed from the plane; they stayed on the ground for 16 hours.

According to the pilots, fumes smelling like “burning paper” started to seep into the cockpit, making the flight team put on oxygen masks just to breathe. At the time, the flight crew believed there was a fire.

They eventually found out that the smoke was actually coming from a passenger who’d be smoking in the bathroom, the news outlet Paddle Your Own Kanoo reports. While the issue ended up being minor, the cigarette smoke could have created a fire if not disposed of properly.

There are no details on whether or not the person responsible has been identified.