A plane was forced to turn back to a UK airport just minutes after take-off following a fire in the cabin. The incident happened aboard the TAP Air Portugal TP1329 on February 8, but the cause of the blaze has emerged in recent days following a report into the incident.
On the day, the flight had left from Gatwick Airport and was heading to Porto before the pilot was forced to transmit a Squawk 7700 – the International code for a general emergency – after seeing smoke coming from one of the overhead luggage compartments. Returning to the British air hub, the plane found emergency responders waiting on the ground.
Passengers disembarked before the aeroplane was taken to a remote stand for technical assessment.
The flight eventually landed safely in Porto nearly three hours behind schedule after the plane was given the all-clear to head to Portugal.
Now, Portuguese air and safety investigators have revealed an e-cigarette had been to blame for the incident.
In a report on the incident, the Lisbon-based Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Accidents in Civil Aviation and Rail, said: “During the initial climb, before reaching 10,000ft, the cabin crew, who were in the rear of the aircraft, detected a strong burning smell and immediately informed the purser.
“He instructed them to contact the cockpit and reinforced the cabin crew in the area of the event. During this period, twelve passengers stood up and blocked the aisle.
“A piece of hand luggage stowed in the overhead bin was found to be on fire, the cabin crew discharged a portable fire extinguisher and rapidly extinguished the flames, following which the smoke dissipated.
“The aircraft returned to London Gatwick Airport, after approximately 14 minutes of flight, for inspection.
“The firefighting team inspected the affected area, and the hand luggage was removed by firefighters for further investigation.
“The wellbeing of passengers and crew was confirmed, and a safety inspection was conducted before the flight to Porto.
“The cause of the fire was identified to be related to an electronic cigarette device that was inside the hand luggage.”
It was not immediately clear how many passengers had been on board but the Airbus A320 jet can carry up to 180 people.