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Fire on JetBlue Plane Forces Evacuation in Bahamas

Locations in this article:  Los Angeles, CA Miami, FL Nassau, Bahamas Orlando, FL

JetBlue logoJetBlue Flight 1781 passengers were forced to make an emergency evacuation upon landing Thursday afternoon after a fire was reported on the left engine.

The flight was en route from Orlando International Airport in Florida to Nassau, the capital city and main entry point to the Bahamas.

This is normally just a fairly standard hour-long flight, but it does pass through the area known as the “Bermuda Triangle.”


Fortunately, the aircraft landed safely at its destination in Nassau, Bahamas, an hour after taking off from Orlando International Airport.

The plane’s 89 passengers, including five infants, and four crew members exited via evacuation slides as a precaution. No injuries have been reported and the plane suffered no visible damage. The plane moved to a taxiway where firefighters quickly extinguished the flames.

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The episode is the second major instance of mechanical failure in the airline’s nine-year history. In 2005, JetBlue Flight 292 made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport following a landing gear malfunction. No passengers or crew members were injured in that incident.

The Embraer 190 aircraft has been taken out of service. JetBlue is the largest operator of Embraer 190 regional jets.

Recently, the airline sought software fixes from the Brazilian maker to help improve reliability. According to JetBlue, recurring problems include false readings for the landing gear and other systems; however, there have been no reports that these glitches were related to the most recent incident.

By Reno Ong for PeterGreenberg.com.

Related links: MSNBC, New York Times, Miami Herald, Time, BusinessWeek, Bloomberg

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