A JetBlue flight from New Jersey to Florida on Wednesday made an emergency landing after smoke was reported in the cabin.
In a statement to Business Insider, a JetBlue representative said that JetBlue flight 543 from Newark to West Palm Beach returned to Newark Liberty International Airport shortly after takeoff, “following a reported engine issue and smoke in the cabin.”
The representative said the aircraft landed safely and passengers and crew evacuated using the aircraft’s slides. They added that JetBlue was working with federal authorities to investigate the incident.
Data from the aircraft-tracking website FlightRadar24 showed the plane, an Airbus A320, making a circular loop in the air above Newark.
It departed from Newark at 5:30 p.m. E.T., 45 minutes later than its scheduled departure time, and returned about 20 minutes later.
There have been several instances of flights in the US making emergency landings because of smoke in recent years.
In November, a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong was forced to return to SFO. The airline said that the flight crew had detected a “burning rubber smell in the cabin,” and it returned to address the issue.
Last February, a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Columbia, South Carolina, was forced to return after just 10 minutes in the air.
Communications between the pilot and air traffic control staff captured the Delta pilot saying, “Got smoke in the cabin and need to plan a return back. Have the fire trucks roll for us, please.”
And in October 2024, a Frontier Airlines flight with nearly 200 people on board, arriving from San Diego, caught fire upon landing in Las Vegas. A video from an onlooker on X showed the plane’s right engine aflame as it slowed to a halt.
Representatives for the Federal Aviation Administration did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
