United A320 near Grand Junction on Jul 22nd 2015, smoke in aircraft or medical emergency

Last Update: July 23, 2015 / 20:43:53 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
Jul 22, 2015

Classification
Accident

Airline
United

Flight number
UA-447

Departure
Denver, United States

Destination
Los Angeles, United States

Aircraft Registration
N460UA

Aircraft Type
Airbus A320

ICAO Type Designator
A320

A United Airbus A320-200, registration N460UA performing flight UA-447 from Denver,CO to Los Angeles,CA (USA) with 153 passengers and 6 crew, was enroute at FL340 about 90nm south of Grand Junction,CO (USA) when the crew reported smoke in the aircraft with six passengers passed out, several more ill and decided to divert to Grand Junction indicating the possibility of an emergency evacuation after landing. The crew released passenger oxygen masks. During the descent the crew queried whether paramedics were on stand by stating they have been told from the cabin six passengers had passed out but weren't sure anymore, the passengers were still on oxygen, the crew did not state whether there was smoke on board or not (tower told emergency services, initially crew reported smoke in cockpit but does not report smoke anymore). The aircraft landed safely on runway 11 about 25 minutes after leaving FL340. One passenger was taken to a hospital.

Grand Junction Fire Department reported five passengers were found unresponsive in the back of the aircraft, there had been no malfunction of the aircraft, the "medical event caused a chain reaction of passengers to feel sick and lightheaded which caused the crew to deploy the oxygen masks", the "'smoke' report came from deployment of the oxygen mask (dusty and powder from storage)". One passenger, who was able to walk off the aircraft and into the ambulance, was taken to a hospital. About 15-20 passengers were assessed for various medical symptoms ranging from headache to nausea.

The airline reported a medical event prompted the diversion to Grand Junction. When the crew received reports of multiple ill passengers the crew released the passenger oxygen masks and diverted to Grand Junction.

On Jul 23rd 2015 the airline added, that the examination of the aircraft did not find any anomaly. The airline explained that cabin crew informed the captain that several passengers reported feeling ill, the captain manually released the passenger oxygen masks in case cabin pressurization was an issue.

A replacement Boeing 737-900 registration N66808 reached Los Angeles as flight UA-2076 with a delay of 6 hours.
Aircraft Registration Data
Registration mark
N460UA
Country of Registration
United States
Date of Registration
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TCDS Ident. No.
Iphig Subscribe to unlock
Manufacturer
AIRBUS INDUSTRIE
Aircraft Model / Type
A320-232
Number of Seats
Jhg Subscribe to unlock
ICAO Aircraft Type
A320
Year of Manufacture
Iggn Subscribe to unlock
Serial Number
Qgjb Subscribe to unlock
Aircraft Address / Mode S Code (HEX)
Lqfngc Subscribe to unlock
Engine Count
D Subscribe to unlock
Engine Manufacturer
Elb Subscribe to unlock
Engine Model
P jlfeenfef Subscribe to unlock
Engine Type
Cq fAmefc Subscribe to unlock
Pounds of Thrust
Pemcm Subscribe to unlock
Main Owner
PpncllA njdinAq epjgA gppAlhe djmpfmddi efpbg qAqgjAnhfhe fjgj lndgikjdjchbgqcc cdlfj cbbhbfbhkipjek Subscribe to unlock
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Jul 22, 2015

Classification
Accident

Airline
United

Flight number
UA-447

Departure
Denver, United States

Destination
Los Angeles, United States

Aircraft Registration
N460UA

Aircraft Type
Airbus A320

ICAO Type Designator
A320

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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