Ten people were hospitalized after a Spirit Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Jacksonville, Florida on Wednesday. Spirit Airlines flight 259, which was traveling to Orlando after departing from Dallas around 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, made an emergency landing when a fire broke out inside the cabin, First Coast News reports.
According to the airline, a guest’s personal item caused the fire, filling the cabin with smoke.
“Spirit Airlines flight 259 from Dallas (DFW) to Orlando (MCO) diverted to Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) following what’s believed to be a battery fire from a Guest item in an overhead bin that was extinguished inflight,” officials stated according to First Coast News. “The plane landed at JAX and taxied to the terminal without incident. We thank our crew and Guests for their quick actions to ensure the safety of everyone onboard, and we thank first responders for meeting the aircraft.”
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department said some crew members were among the people who were taken to the hospital, but all the patients are expected to be OK.
“I was right across from a luggage bin and I saw smoke coming out of it and I wasn’t sure what it was,” passenger Kerri Arakawa told First Coast News. “And then all of a sudden just a ton of smoke came out. There was a retired fireman that jumped up and flight crew came in and they tried putting water on it . . . and another guy went and got a bucket because I think the fireman reached in and grabbed it and they got it put out, but it took about 20 minutes.”
