Chaos as passenger plane forced to U-turn after 'fumes' fill cabin

An American Airlines flight was forced to turn around after several passengers said they were "feeling ill" from what was described as "fumes" inside the plane. The plane took off from Los Angeles International Airport just before 5pm local time yesterday evening (1am BST), October 14, and was heading to JFK International Airport in New York.

Only minutes into the flight, passengers started reporting a smell of fumes inside the cabin and complained of feeling unwell, ABC7 reports. Pilots also warned air control that they could smell and taste something, and had put on their oxygen masks in the cockpit.

The plane returned to the airport it had departed from and, upon landing, seven passengers were evaluated by medical staff, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Nobody was admitted to hospital.

The maintenance team inspected the aircraft, and nothing dangerous was detected, American Airlines said.

Flight tracking service FlightRadar24 shows the plane did a loop before it returned to LAX for the emergency landing.

American Airlines spokesperson said: "American Airlines flight 274 with service from Los Angeles (LAX) to New York (JFK) returned to LAX shortly after takeoff due to reports of an odor in the cabin.

"The flight landed safely and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. We never want to disrupt our customers' travel plans and apologize for the inconvenience."

The Express understands first responders met the aircraft upon arrival, in accordance with standard protocol, and American Airlines passengers continued to JFK on a replacement aircraft.

This comes after, earlier this week, a Delta Airlines flight needed to return to Heathrow Airport after smoke reportedly filled the cockpit as it flew over Cornwall. Heading to Boston Logan International Airport in the US, the plane made an emergency landing following reports of fumes from crew members.