One person was taken to the hospital after a United Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles was diverted shortly after takeoff Wednesday.
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The Grand Junction Fire Department said a report of “smoke” in the cabin came from the deployment of oxygen masks that were covered in dust from storage.
According to a public information officer for the Grand Junction Fire Department, a “medical event” caused a “chain reaction of passengers to feel sick and lightheaded”, leading the pilot to deploy the oxygen masks.
Photos and video from the airport showed passengers on the runway outside of the aircraft. “Everyone had regained consciousness or there was no one unresponsive when the plane landed”.
However, after the Airbus A320 made safe landing, firefighters went in, and everyone was conscious, alert and oriented, Montgomery said.
United Airlines said Flight 447 carried a crew of six and 150 passengers. A new aircraft is set to take the passengers to LAX Wednesday afternoon. Emergency medical personnel received a call to respond about 9:15 a.m. and met the plane on the tarmac, according to local fire officials.
Passengers continuing on to Los Angeles will be placed on a different plane, the airline said, and maintenance workers will be checking the plane to look for any potential technical problems.
Officials say the person taken to the hospital was “able to walk off the aircraft and get in to the ambulance”.
FlightAware shows the path of the plane as it turned to land in Grand Junction.
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“UA447 on the way to LA just emergency landed at Grand Junction – loss of oxygen in the cabin”, another passenger, David Schamis, tweeted with his photo.
