JetBlue Flight Returns To Boston After 'Unusual Odor' In Cabin

A JetBlue flight leaving from Boston Saturday evening had to return to Boston after passengers and crew became "unwell" when they smelled an "unusual odor" early on in the flight.

Flight 1095 from Boston to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, departed Logan International Airport around 5 p.m. EST but returned to the airport at 6:24 p.m. EST because of the odor. The flight was delayed at Boston before taking off, and returned after almost an hour into its journey.

The flight was originally scheduled to depart Boston at 10:52 a.m. and land in Punta Cana at 2:27 p.m, according to the New York Daily News.

Federal aviation authorities were investigating the cause of the odor, New York Daily News said. In a statement reported by CBS News, Jet Blue said: "Shortly after departure from Boston, the crew on board JetBlue Flight 1095 to Punta Cana reported an unusual odor and customers and crew members feeling unwell."

"In an abundance of caution, the crew elected to return to Boston and was met by medical (personnel). The aircraft will be inspected," the statement read.

The Federal Aviation Administration also issued a statement saying there were fumes in the cabin prior to the aircraft turning back mid-journey.

"JetBlue 1095, an Airbus A320, landed safely on Runway 33L at Boston Logan International Airport tonight 6:25 p.m. after reporting fumes in the cabin. The FAA will investigate," the statement read.

CBS also cited Massport Media Relations saying no one was transported to the hospital.

In a similar incident of odor breaking out on a flight, four people from an American Airlines flight including one passenger and three crew members were taken to a local hospital on New Year’s Day. Flight 1719 from Boston, Massachusetts, to Charlotte, North Carolina was forced to return to the gate due to an odor.

The airline told local news outlets that the plane was carrying 120 passengers and 5 crew members. American Airlines representatives told local news outlets that a "mechanical issue" was to blame for the incident and the jet was now being taken out of service. The remaining passengers were rerouted.

Another flight from Las Vegas to Nashville, Tennessee, carrying 178 passengers and six crew members got rerouted when there was an unusual smell in the cockpit in November. The Frontier Airlines flight was examined after landing but the source of the smell was not revealed.

Quenton Lewis, who was among the 178 passengers aboard the flight said about the experience: "We started descending out of nowhere, and then out of nowhere the captain said 'prepare for landing,' and we landed a couple of minutes later. The whole time we was going down we didn’t know why we were landing."

Richard Oliver, a spokesman for the airline also commented saying: "Safety is our number one priority and out of an abundance of caution this flight diverted due to an odor in the cockpit, this flight is expected to continue on to BNA shortly on the same aircraft."