Smoke, no fire, on Caribbean Airlines plane

In a statement, Caribbean Airlines said smoke was emanating from one of its Boeing 737 aircraft at about 7 pm on Tuesday, after landing at Piarco International Airport.

Caribbean Airlines corporate communications manager Dionne Ligoure yesterday said the flight was BW 417 which plied the Jamaica – St Maarten – Barbados – Trinidad route.

Investigations revealed that the smoke was coming from one of the plane’s auxiliary power units, Ligoure said in a statement. There was no fire on the plane, airline officials later told Newsday. Caribbean Airlines said the standard procedure was executed by the cockpit and cabin crew and no passengers were injured when the aircraft was deplaned.

Airline officials said the maintenance department and other authorities were doing all the relevant checks to ensure that the plane is returned to service as soon as possible.

They added that these types of problems were routine and travellers could rest assured that this will not disrupt Caribbean Airlines’ operating schedule.

ACAWU president Curtis John said he heard about the incident and there was nothing for the travelling public to be worried about. John explained that these types of mechanical problems occur from time to time and it was a matter of maintenance.