COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Scary moments for passengers aboard a Southwest flight that was forced to make an emergency landing at the Colorado Springs Airport Sunday afternoon.
Shortly after 11 a.m. airport officials said Southwest Flight 1646 called in an alert that there was smoke in the cockpit.
The plane was heading from Phoenix to Denver but diverted to Colorado Springs, where it landed safely at 11:42 a.m.
Officials said there were 141 people on board the 737.
"All of the sudden you could smell smoke everywhere." Brad O'laughlin, a passenger, said. "The captain didn't know what was going on, and the flight attendants didn't know what was going on."
Despite smoke filling the plane, O'laughlin said everyone on board stayed calm.
"It was scary for a bit, but after a while you knew that everything would be okay," he said. "We had a great captain, and Southwest took care of us."
O'laughlin said the smoke was like a haze and only lasted for a few minutes. He said it smelt like burnt dust or burnt plastic.
"When the smoke came through there was a little bit of panic, but the captain got on the radio and everybody was pretty much calm after that," O'laughlin said.
Officials said they don't know what was behind the smoke, but they were prepared to handle it once the plane landed.
"We have the emergency vehicles sized appropriately for the aircraft size, and it's already pre-planned out, an emergency plan of what to do when such an event happens," Dan Gallagher, Assistant Aviation Director over Planning & Development at the Colorado Springs Airport, said. "Depending on what type of alert they call in with, we respond accordingly. It's a very thorough program that we have to practice regularly, table top and actual exercises."
The Colorado Springs Fire Department also responded to the scene.
"When we got to Colorado Springs we were greeted by about two firetrucks and two crash response units, and then all of a sudden it got multiplied by about three, and there was about eight vehicles, and we saw men with silver suits walking around the bottom of our plane with the heat suits on," O'laughlin said.
Passengers were allowed off the plane after firefighters determined it was safe.
Airport officials said Southwest sent a second plane to the Colorado Springs Airport so passengers could get to their final destinations.
"I don't think this happens to anybody twice," O'laughlin said.
No injuries were reported.
This is the second major jet airliner to make an emergency landing in Colorado Springs in the past three months. On Dec. 30, A Boeing 757 en route from Detroit to Phoenix had to land at the Colorado Springs airport because of a problem with one of its engines. Nearly all of the 224 passengers aboard that plane had to spend a good part of their Thursday at the airport because a plane big enough to fit them all wasn't available in the city.
In January of 2010, a drunk man on a flight from Atlanta to San Francisco caused a disturbance, and the pilot landed that 737 at the Colorado Springs Airport. Authorities removed the man from the plane, and it departed a short time later.
In June, Denver International Airport diverted 14 planes to Colorado Springs because of high winds in the Denver area.
Officials said mechanics are inspecting the 737 plane that landed Sunday to try to determine the cause of the smoke.
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Original story:
A Southwest flight from Phoenix to Denver is forced to make an emergency landing after crews report smoke in the cockpit.
The 737 landed at the Colorado Springs Airport around noon where the Colorado Springs Fire Department was waiting.
No injuries are being reported at this time.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKXRM