Black Immigrant Daily News
Passengers on JetBlue Flight 662 from Barbados on Christmas Eve are counting their lucky stars after a fire ignited as the plane approached their gate at JFK International Airport in New York City.
Emergency responders evacuated the flight as a result of a small fire in a passenger’s laptop on Saturday evening, December 24, officials said.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), JetBlue and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the aircraft was taxing to a gate at Terminal 5 when a lithium battery in a passenger’s laptop caught fire, the New York Daily News reported.
The fire was quickly extinguished by the crew of JetBlue Flight 662 from Bridgetown, Barbados.
First responders and the crew evacuated 67 people from the Airbus A320 jet using an emergency slide system. Another 60 passengers exited the plane normally, the Port Authority said.
Seven passengers suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation and bruised elbows, the Port Authority said.
“Safety is always our number one priority, and we are investigating this incident in coordination with the FAA and NTSB,” JetBlue said in a statement to the Daily News.
The flight departed Barbados at 4:30 pm and landed at JFK at 8:53 pm.
NewsAmericasNow.com
