- Reports of smoke forced passengers and crew to evacuate a Southwest Airlines jet at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California.
- Southwest said there was a report of a “possible fire near the rear exterior” of flight 2123 as the plane pushed back from the gate at John Wayne on its way to San Jose.
- Emergency slides were deployed and all 139 passengers and five crew members exited the plane safely.
Passengers and crew were forced to exit a Southwest Airlines plane at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County after a report of a “possible fire near the rear exterior of the aircraft,” the carrier said in a statement to Business Insider on Monday night.
“Upon push back of the aircraft, the Captain in command of Flight #2123 with scheduled service from Orange County to San Jose received an indication by ground personnel of a possible fire near the rear exterior of aircraft,” a Southwest spokesperson said.
“Standard protocol was initiated and evacuation slides were deployed. Local Fire and Rescue met the aircraft and the 139 passengers and five Crew Members departed the aircraft via the slides.”
The airline said paramedics were on site, but no serious injuries were reported.
