Emergency evacuation of a Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321neo after smoke filled the cabin

On 22 August, a Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321neo (N218HA) operated domestic flight HA47 between Oakland and Honolulu (United States). The aircraft carried 184 passengers and 7 crew members. Twenty minutes before landing at the Hawai’i airport, the pilots declared an emergency due to reports of smoke in the cargo hold and cabin. 

The aircraft safely landed on runway 04R and was awaited by emergency services. Emergency slides were deployed to evacuate the passengers and crew members. In total, seven passengers were transported to hospital due to smoke-related symptoms. The other passengers and the crew were bussed to the terminal.

The airline determined that a seal failed in the aircraft’s left engine, causing oil to leak onto hot parts of the plane’s engine and air conditioning pressurization system, resulting in smoke in the cabin. The performance of the engine was never affected.

“We sincerely apologize to our passengers for this incident, and thank them, as well as first responders and airport officials, for their cooperation and assistance in a swift and safe evacuation,” the airline said, “we are conducting a thorough inspection of the aircraft before returning it to service.”