Wimbledon Champ Venus Williams in Airliner Scare
July 10, 2001 7:28 am EST
LONDON (Reuters) - A jet carrying U.S. tennis star Venus Williams and 130 other passengers to Milan was forced to turn back to London after a "funny smell" was detected in the cockpit, aviation sources said on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for British Airways said the airline's Flight 572 to Milan's Malpensa Airport returned to Heathrow half an hour into its journey as a "precaution."
"The plane did an airborne return after a funny smell was coming from the cockpit. The very speculative newspaper reports of smoke filling the cockpit and plane were wrong," the spokeswoman said.
Passengers were put on another aircraft to complete their journey to Milan later on Monday.
The 21-year-old Williams on Sunday won her second straight Wimbledon title.
Source:
iWon
Tennis Champ in 'BA Jet Scare'
WIMBLEDON champion Venus Williams is reported to have been among the passengers on a jet which filled with smoke at 30,000ft.
The 21-year-old American is said to have been one of 132 passengers travelling on a British Airways plane which was forced to return to Heathrow airport.
The jet was about half an hour into its flight to Milan when smoke reportedly billowed from the cockpit yesterday.
Emergency services were on standby at Heathrow where passengers were safely escorted off the plane, The Mirror reports.
All the passengers were put on a jet for Milan later in the morning.
A BA spokesman said: "Flight crew became aware of an oily, odd smell in the cockpit.
"We apologised to passengers and our engineers are now checking the aircraft."
icSouthLondon
[ 10 July 2001: Message edited by: Capt PPRuNe ]