Emergency crews by aircraft
Photo: Shlomi Safran
El Al flight halts moment before takeoff
El Al flight LY347 to Zurich stops just before takeoff after cabin fills with smoke; passengers evacuated on emergency chutes
El Al airlines announced that a Boeing 737 headed to Zurich Sunday morning halted a moment before takeoff after "a smell of smoke" was detected "coming from an unknown source."
The 128 passengers and six crew members were evacuated from the aircraft on the emergency slides. No one was injured during in the event.
Flight LY347 started taxiing at 6.45 a.m. A few moments before takeoff, the cabin filled with smoke. The pilot stopped the aircraft and the 128 passengers and 6 crew members were evacuated on the emergency chutes.
El Al Boeing 737 after evacuation (Photo and red Email courtesy of Shlomi Safran)
One of the passengers on the flight, Shlomi Safran, told Ynet: "The plane started moving and all of a sudden it was full of smoke. It looked like it came from the engines. Some people started shouting, but I must say that the crew functioned remarkably.
"They opened the emergency exits and we all jumped out on the slides one after the other. It was a bit stressful but it ended okay. We were put on busses and taken back to the terminal," he said.
El Al's initial investigation revealed that the smoke was a result of cleaning detergent left in the engine after a periodical treatment last week.
Initial information received by red Email.
