One Seattle-Bound Aircraft Evacuated, Another Diverted

A planeload of Delta passengers left their A321 on slides instead of the jet bridge Monday after a fire started in the front landing gear well. Airport authorities said the fire started after the aircraft was plugged into shore power after a flight from Cancun. The crew called for an emergency evacuation with a PA announcement quoted by one passenger as: "Drop your belongings, unbuckle and head to the exits." There were 189 passengers and six crew onboard and no one was hurt. Meanwhile, 272 passengers and crew on an Air France Boeing 787 who were also on their way to Seattle instead ended up spending the day in the remote town of Iqaluit in the Canadian territory of Nunavut on Tuesday.

A "heat smell" in the cabin prompted the crew to make an emergency landing in the town of about 8,000 people, which, as the economic and government hub of the vast area, has an airport with an 8,605-foot runway. The Dreamliner will apparently have an extended stay in Iqaluit. The airline sent a 777 to pick up the passengers and it took off late Tuesday but it went to JFK instead of Seattle, leaving passengers with another six-hour flight to get to their destination. Airliners on the busy polar routes between North America and Europe use Iqaluit for diversions every few months, according to local officials.