Transport / Canadian wildfire smoke caused burning smell on Shetland-bound flights
One of the planes turned back to Aberdeen after the smell was reported by crew
SMOKE in the UK atmosphere from Canadian wildfires caused disruption to two Shetland-bound flights on Thursday – after cabin crew reported a burning smell on board.
One plane had to declare an emergency whilst arriving into Sumburgh Airport, whilst the other turned back to Aberdeen. Both were Loganair services.
However, with no defects found on either of the planes, the cases were thought to be linked and further enquiries with the Met Office and National Air Traffic Services have ruled that the cause was wildlife smoke from Canada brought across the jetstreams.
A spokesperson for Loganair said the airline hopes that the response to the situation gives passengers “complete reassurance that we always place safety above all other considerations”.
Canada has suffered significantly from wildfires this summer, while Storm Agnes has also caused strong winds in the UK this week.
The plane landing at Sumburgh which declared an emergency was an afternoon oil charter flight from Aberdeen. There was a strong smell of smoke reported on the flightdeck.
The second was a scheduled flight from Aberdeen to Sumburgh, which followed soon after. It turned back towards the mainland shortly after take-off as a precaution after cabin crew reported a burning smell in the cabin.
Both aircraft were removed from service for engineering examination, and the LM78 Aberdeen-Sumburgh and LM79 Sumburgh-Aberdeen services were cancelled as a result.
Passengers were put on an alternative aircraft drafted in to operate the planned later evening Aberdeen-Sumburgh and Sumburgh-Aberdeen services.
Whilst crew were unaware of the cause at the time, a warning about the smoke was issued to pilots later that day.
A spokesperson for Loganair said: “Safety is always our first priority, and our crews responded in line with their training and procedures when a smell of smoke was detected on each of the flights.
“In both cases, the crews’ actions ensured that the aircraft landed safely and at the earliest possible opportunity – none could have known at that point of the presence of Canadian wildfire smoke in the UK atmosphere, which was only notified later in the day by Air Traffic Control and the UK Met Office.
“We’re sorry for the disruption to customers’ journeys this afternoon, yet trust that the response of our crews to this unusual – and at the time, unknown – situation offers complete reassurance that we always place safety above all other considerations.”
A representative of the Met Office said on Thursday: “We have a strong westerly influence to our weather at the moment and this can bring air all the way from North America to Europe wrapped up within our weather systems.
“This air currently contains smoke from Canadian wildfires.
“A combination of smoke and high cloud in the atmosphere can scatter sunlight, creating unusual colour shifts.”
The smoke has also been responsible for a diluted lilac or purple colour of the sun and moon recently, according to a BBC meteorologist.
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