Cabin smoke forces Korean Air jet to land at Naia

A Korea-bound Boeing 777 aircraft landed safely early Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after encountering a problem mid-flight.

According to a report from the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), the Korean Air flight from Singapore immediately radioed in to the Manila control tower for an emergency landing after smoke was detected in its cabin at around 1:30 am.

MIAA immediately deployed firetrucks and medical teams to await the aircraft which landed safely and unloaded its 285 passengers to ensure their safety.

Korean Air maintenance personnel immediately inspected the aircraft and declared it safe to continue the flight at 4 am.

Sung Suk Jae of Korean Air clarified that the flight did not have smoke in the cabin but the crew “sensed a burning smell coming out from a seat.”

“After a maintenance check it was figured the origin of the smell was the AVOD (audio/video on demand) unit that was malfunctioning.  The unit’s power supply was cut (as) a safety measure and continued the flight,” he said.

The aircraft, with its 285 passengers, resumed its flight to Incheon taking off from the Naia past 5 am. CBB/JE