Russian Plane Evacuated Due To Strange Smell In Cabin, 8 Injured

Passengers from Nordwind Airlines Boeing 737 at Russia’s Sheremetyevo airport were evacuated following a strange smell in the cabin. And in the process of evacuation, eight passengers were injured while going down inflated chutes. Rescuers said one person was hospitalized with a dislocated ankle and another with a hypertensive emergency.

According to an official statement by the airlines, the Yerevan-bound Nordwind Flight N4477 was preparing for takeoff when people onboard smelled something strange. The airline was scheduled to arrive at Armenia’s capital at 09:00 Moscow time. There was no fire contrary to earlier reports that smoke had filled the cabin.

“At 00:45 Moscow time, strange smell was reported in the cabin as flight N4-477 SVO-EVN B738 (VPBSZ) was accelerating on the runway. The crew aborted the takeoff, left the runway, turned off the engines and organized the evacuation of passengers - 162 adults and 11 children, using inflatable slides,” the statement said.

According to Moscow region emergency services, the aircraft was taxiing when the crew signaled about smoke in the cabin. That’s when the decision to abort the takeoff was made. However, rescuers found no signs of fire or smoke in the cabin. Passengers were later put on another flight to their destination.

Rosaviatsiya, Russia’s civil aviation watchdog, has ordered a special commission to investigate the causes and circumstances of this incident.