BOSTON (WHDH) - A flight from New York’s JFK International Airport to Madrid, Spain made an unexpected landing at Logan International Airport overnight following a technical issue with an engine.
A spokeswoman for Iberia Airlines says the engine became problematic after one hour and thirty minutes of flight.
Passengers on board recalled smelling smoke after attendants told them about the problem.
“Something was burning so I kinda got up, I looked around,” Natasha Timpone said. “Everyone was kind of panicking and we found one of the engines had blown.”
A look at the flight path from FlightAware.com shows the plane taking off from New York City, heading across the Atlantic Ocean to Madrid when it abruptly turns around after flying past Nova Scotia and lands in Boston around midnight.
“Besides the engine basically shutting off in the middle of the flight, it felt very strange,” Elsa Kendrick said.
The aircraft landed safely and everyone on board walked out uninjured, the spokeswoman said.
Tensions rose once the 265 passengers entered the airport.
State police were called in to keep the peace as frustrated people lined up at the counter, trying to get information from Iberia Airlines.
Crews set up cots for people to sleep, while the airline company worked to bus passengers back to JFK.
According to a spokeswoman, the passengers were taken to New York due to the lack of hotel rooms in Boston and because New York offers more flight opportunities to Europe.
Some passengers choose to forgo the roughly four-hour bus ride and booked their trip to Europe through other airlines at Logan.
In a statement, the airline says in part: “Iberia regrets the inconveniences caused by this flight divertion and by the difficulties in finding accommodation or direct flights for the customers affected by it.”
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