Virgin Atlantic flight makes emergency landing after ‘phone charger’ fire
A Virgin Atlantic flight to London was forced to make an emergency landing after a fire to broke out on board.
It is thought an external phone charger wedged between seat cushions had ignited, although this hasn’t been confirmed.
Flight 138 left New York JFK Airport at around 8pm last night and was due to arrive at Heathrow at 7.20am this morning.
Instead, the A330 diverted to Boston, where it landed at 8.50pm.
All 217 passengers and crew were safely evacuated.
"Preliminary investigation suggests it is a battery pack consistent in appearance with an external phone charger," said a police spokesman.
One passenger refused treatment for a smoke-related complaint, they added.
Virgin Atlantic said it is ‘currently investigating’ what caused the incident.
"The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we are currently investigating to fully understand the circumstances," said a Virgin spokeswoman.
"We’d like to thank our customers for their patience as we work with them to provide local accommodation or to rebook alternative flights to their final destination."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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