John Wayne Airport : Cigarette Butt Blamed for Jetliner Smoke
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Smoke in the rear cabin area of an American Airlines BAe-146 jetliner at John Wayne Airport brought fire crews to the aircraft Thursday night immediately after the plane landed, officials said.
However, no damage was reported, and the smoke was traced to a cigarette butt thrown into the wastebasket in the aircraft’s rear lavatory.
Al Becker, spokesman for Dallas-based American, said smoke was reported when Flight 381 from San Jose landed with 50 passengers aboard at 10:23 p.m.
“All passengers were deplaned normally through the front stairs. . . . There were no injuries,” Becker said. “The airplane went back into service this morning.”
“Under federal law,” Becker said, “smoking is prohibited in all lavatories, and those announcements are made on board the airplane.”
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