JetBlue flight makes emergency landing in Kansas after false alarm about smoke in cargo area

SALINA, Kansas (AP) — A JetBlue flight from New York to San Diego landed safely in Kansas after the crew received an alert about smoke in the cargo area, authorities said. The airline said it turned out to be a false alarm.

Flight 1189, with about 130 people on board, departed Kennedy International Airport at about 4 p.m. Saturday and was headed to San Diego International Airport.

The Airbus A320 landed at Salina Regional Airport in Kansas around 6:30 p.m. local time. The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate.

No injuries were reported, and the local fire department helped people off the plane.

“The pilot came on and let us know that he was seeing an alert for smoke in the cargo bay,” said passenger Seth Odell, NBC News reported. “Some passengers did report hearing a loud bang, too, and so we descended incredibly rapidly and landed in the extremely small airport in Salina.”

Odell said people were starting to “freak out.”

“Some people were crying. It was a little bit intense for a few minutes,” he said.

JetBlue said in a statement that the plane landed without incident.

“Upon inspection, we determined the smoke indication presented to our pilots was a false indication,” the statement said.