Southwest Flight fills with smoke and has to make an

Southwest Flight fills with smoke and has to make an emergency landing

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By Richard Polline

March 6, 2023 | 5:38 a.m

A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after an alleged bird strike that caused smoke to fill the cabin. Twitter/@aviationbrk

Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight from Cuba to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., broke out in panic and chaos after the jet was forced into an emergency landing after a bird strike.

Shortly after takeoff from Havana, smoke began to fill the cabin of Flight 3923 after reported birds struck one of the plane’s engines and nose.

The Boeing 737 had 147 passengers and six crew members on board, and the pilot was able to safely return the flight to Havana. There were no reported injuries, Southwest Airlines told The Guardian.

In shocking cellphone footage captured inside the cabin, some passengers desperately try to bang the ceiling over their seats to release their oxygen masks as smoke overwhelms worried travelers.

Screams, panicked murmurs from adults and the scream of a child can be heard while passengers remain clueless as to what is going on, with one traveler describing hearing a “boom” before the smoke began to fill the cabin.

Several passengers reported that their masks did not fall off when smoke began to fill the cabin.Twitter/@aviationbrk Some passengers reportedly banged their knuckles on the roof to get their masks off, bloody.Twitter/@aviationbrk

After the plane landed safely at Marti Airport, passengers were seen using the jet’s evacuation slide to exit the plane while rescue workers waited nearby.

In another video, the crowd of passengers were seen walking disoriented down the tarmac, with many coughing violently and still screaming from the chaos.

When asked what led up to the horrific incident, one passenger recalled hearing “a big bang. Like an explosion.”

“To be honest, I thought it was my time to go,” Steven Rodriguez told NBC 6. “I was scared.”

Several passengers on the flight to Fort Lauderdale said their air masks were not deployed on the plane when smoke filled the cabin.

“People started taking things into their own hands and violently hitting the roof to throw off the masks,” Rodriguez said. “And people had bloody knuckles and all because they were banging on the roof. There were small children and older women on the plane.”

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Another passenger, Jorge Montesino, said he saw the plane’s engine burst into flames, prompting him to immediately text his wife and children to express his love for them.

As the plane landed safely, although still disoriented, the passengers clapped and cheered the pilot.

“The captain was amazing,” Montesino told the outlet. “Using only one engine, the left engine, she was able to turn the plane and land safely.”

Firefighters are seen spraying the plane’s engine onto the tarmac after the plane made an emergency landing.Twitter/@aviationbrk

“We commend the prompt and professional actions of our pilots and flight attendants in responding to this event. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and have reached out to address their needs and offer support,” Southwest said in a statement on the incident.

Radio Rebelde, Cuba’s state-run media, citing Cuban Aviation Corporation SA (CACSA), reported that the plane “experienced failures in one of its engines during takeoff.”

CACSA said an investigation is underway and the airport will continue operations as usual, CNN reported.

Southwest Airlines said the company “will inspect the aircraft to assess the damage but has no further details to share at this time” when asked about the reported engine failure.

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