ANA B763 at Guangzhou on Nov 2nd 2017, low visibility in cabin

Last Update: November 9, 2017 / 23:56:40 GMT/Zulu time

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Photo of ANA All Nippon Airways JA611A, Boeing 767-300 — ANA All Nippon Airways JA611A, Boeing 767-300 (Photo credit: m-takagi / Flickr / License: CC by)

Incident Facts

Date of incident
Nov 2, 2017

Classification
Incident

Airline
ANA All Nippon Airways

Flight number
NH-924

Departure
Guangzhou, China

Destination
Tokyo Haneda, Japan

Aircraft Registration
JA611A

Aircraft Type
Boeing 767-300

ICAO Type Designator
B763

An ANA All Nippon Airways Boeing 767-300, registration JA611A performing flight NH-924 from Guangzhou (China) to Tokyo Haneda (Japan) with 163 passengers and 10 crew, was in the initial climb out of Guangzhou when mist appeared in the cabin and cockpit causing low visibility. The crew levelled off a low altitude and returned to Guangzhou for a safe landing.

The airline reported the aircraft was climbing through about 1000 feet when haze/mist appeared in the cabin and cockpit. The aircraft returned to Guangzhou for a safe landing about 55 minutes after departure. The flight was cancelled, the passengers were rebooked onto the next flight NH-934.

Passenger Craig Campbell reported he was seated in the aft cabin. They did not observe any haze or mist, however, noticed a "a strong smell of phosphorous/flint/burning". He and other passengers coffered their noses. The engines and climb slowed shortly afterwards. The crew announced there was no problem, just some smell, then the crew told the passengers they were checking some smell and issues subsequently concluding there was nothing wrong, correcting themselves now stating there were some issues but all was okay and finally the crew announced they were returning to the airport due to some problems. While the aircraft was configuring for landing it became warmer and warmer in the cabin. The aircraft vacated the runway and stopped, several fire engines and ambulances lined up near the aircraft. The aircraft was towed to the apron, where the passengers disembarked via stairs. A number of passengers seated in the front of the cabin, who had reported seeing smoke, were quickly taken away and were not seen again. The crew also disappeared.

On Nov 10th 2017 Passenger Craig Campbell reported the airline had followed up with a letter explaining that the cause of the abnormal odour and "fog-like misty" was a malfunction of the air conditioning system.