Passengers Evacuated From Southwest Plane at Atlanta Airport Over 'Fear of Fire'

A Southwest Airlines plane bound for Fort Myers, Florida, was evacuated at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport over fears of a fire on Tuesday, July 3.Passengers were forced to leave flight 1847 after the pilot turned back to Atlanta shortly after takeoff when an “atypical odor” was smelled in the cockpit, a Southwest Airlines spokesman told Storyful. They were delayed for about three hours before a new aircraft took them to their destination, he said.In a statement, the spokesman said that passengers were safely evacuated from the plane.“After a by-the-book landing, the pilots turned off their active runway and taxied to an area where airport responders could inspect the full exterior of the aircraft, per protocol,” the spokesman said. “To minimize their wait in the summer heat, the airport provided buses and air stairs so we could get the 141 customers and the crew into the concourse to be reunited with their bags and move onto a new aircraft and get down to Southwest Florida ultimately, about three hours behind schedule.”“We apologized to them for the inconvenience created by the return to Atlanta to ensure the safest operation of the flight,” he said.This video of fire crews on the runway at the airport was captured by a passenger, Jimmy Link.Storyful has contacted Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for comment. Credit: Jimmy Link via Storyful