International- An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency return to a Florida airport on Wednesday due to a chemical odor.
- The odor had seeped out of a passenger's carry-on bag and into the cabin, officials said.
A Barbados-bound American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency return back to a Florida airport on Wednesday night thanks to a "chemical odor" that seeped out of a passenger's carry-on bag and into the cabin, officials said.
American Airlines flight No. 338 departed from Florida's Miami International Airport on Wednesday evening and returned at around 9 p.m. "due to a chemical odor in the cabin caused by the contents of a customer's carry-on luggage," a spokesperson for the airline told Insider.
"The aircraft landed safely and without incident, and customers deplaned via air stairs and were bussed to the terminal," the spokesperson said.
Emergency crews with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the incident as the plane arrived at the airport.
"HazMat units performed a hazard assessment due to reports of a strong chemical smell inside the plane," a fire department spokesperson told Insider.
Five crew members aboard the plane — which was carrying a total of 173 people — were taken to the hospital "out of an abundance of caution" after the aircraft was evacuated, according to American Airlines and the fire department.
It wasn't clear what caused the chemical smell, but one man aboard the flight told WSVN 7News that the odor was similar to nail polish remover.
"Personally it didn't have an effect on me, but I understand that a couple of other passengers felt sick. They might have been vomiting," the man told the news outlet.
He added, "It felt strong enough for a couple of people. We were in the back of the plane so it didn't seem that out of the ordinary. I was hoping we could plow through but I guess not."
American Airlines said that all customers onboard the plane were offered hotel accommodations.
The flight left again for Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados on Thursday morning at 9:22 a.m.