A bad smell on board and the plane is forced to turn back while in the middle of the Atlantic. It happened on Saturday 25 July on flight AA719 operated by American Airlines. Having left Rome Fiumicino at 12.40pm with 281 passengers on board, the Boeing 787-9 was headed to Philadelphia, in the United States, but something went wrong and the crew decided to turn around.
According to Flightradar data, the aircraft turned around about 3 and a half hours after take-off, while it was at 10,970 meters above sea level and the pilots had only an endless blue expanse in front of them.
After turning to the right, the Boeing pointed its nose towards Dublin where it landed less than two hours later, around 4.10pm (local time).
The unpleasant smell and the presumed illnesses among the cabin crew
What caused a sudden change of course, when the Boeing was almost halfway there? According to the reconstructions of air traffic and sector newspapers, what pushed the pilots to the emergency landing was the sudden illness suffered by six flight attendants who reported dizziness and other ailments.
At the moment the airline has not released any official statements, but confirmed to the Simple Flying newspaper that “an unpleasant smell” had been reported on board and that once landed some staff members and a passenger were taken care of by the medics.
This is the statement reported by Simple Flying:
“American Airlines Flight 719, from Rome (Fco) to Philadelphia (Phl), was diverted to Dublin (Dub) due to an unpleasant odor reported on board. Paramedics attended the plane at the gate as a precaution and the flight attendants and one passenger were examined and subsequently discharged.”
The hypothesis of a fault in the air conditioning system
The cause of the illness has not yet been disclosed. Unlike other traditional airliners (which use air from the engines for pressurization), the Boeing 787 Dreamliner uses separate electric compressors for cabin air, making the possibility of poisoning from engine fumes remote. For this reason, industry publications hypothesize other causes, such as a failure in the air conditioning and ventilation system or other components. However, these are assumptions.
The rules impose a minimum number of flight attendants
In addition to the 281 passengers, there were 3 pilots and 12 crew members on the Boeing. Civil aviation regulations require the minimum presence of one flight attendant for every 50 passengers for the entire duration of the journey. Since most of the crew were no longer fit to work, the pilots had no choice but to abort the flight and decided to turn towards Dublin where the aircraft landed safely. The airline added that the 281 passengers were offered overnight accommodations and travelers departed for Philadelphia the next day.