It’s not uncommon for aircraft to have to divert to their origin airport due to a maintenance issue. While that can be unnerving, I think it pales in comparison to the crew briefing passengers to prepare for a possible water landing…
Brand new Spirit Airlines A321neo returns to Montego Bay
This incident happened on Sunday, May 26, 2024, and involves Spirit Airlines flight NK270, scheduled to operate the 540-mile journey from Montego Bay (MBJ) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL). The aircraft used for this flight was a brand new Airbus A321neo with the registration code N781NK, which just joined Spirit’s fleet last month (thank goodness it wasn’t a Boeing, or else some people would no doubt be calling on all Boeing jets to be grounded).
The aircraft took off at 1:24PM, and climbed up to 5,000 feet. However, the aircraft quickly encountered an issue, and had to return to the airport. According to those onboard, the pilots told the passengers to prepare for a water landing. The flight attendants then briefed passengers about how to put on their life jackets.
Fortunately that water ditching wasn’t actually needed, and the aircraft landed back in Montego Bay at 1:46PM, just 22 minutes after it departed. The aircraft was met by emergency services, though there were no injuries. The flight ended up being canceled, and the aircraft is still on the ground in Montego Bay as of the time this story is published.
It’s not entirely clear as of now what the issue was that caused the diversion. Based on looking at flight tracking software, it looks like the plane was able to maintain its altitude, as it leveled off at 5,000 feet, prior to descending, and then leveling off at 3,000 feet.
It’s also not known why the cabin was prepared for a water landing. As far as I know, this isn’t standard for all diversions involving an island departure. So was there an additional risk and actual concern that the plane wouldn’t make it back to the runway, was it a miscommunication, or what?
This reminds me of that Cathay Pacific incident
It seems like in the above case, the water landing preparations were just made out of an abundance of caution, rather than because a water ditching was actually planned. I think it’s safe to say that the thought of an aircraft “landing” in the water would terrify just about anyone.
This concept always reminds me of a 2015 Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER flight from Hong Kong (HKG) to Los Angeles (LAX). The aircraft was over the Bering Sea, when smoke detectors went off. Smoke (or a fire) over water is of course incredibly concerning, given the lack of diversion points.
The plane ended up safely diverting to the remote Eareckson Air Station in the Aleutian Islands (a remote part of Alaska), formerly known as the Shemya Air Force Base.
Given how remote the airport is, plus that it’s a US air base, passengers ended up having to stay onboard the aircraft for an extended period of time, prior to eventually continuing to Anchorage (ANC).
Video footage from inside the cabin gives me goosebumps, since I can’t even imagine how terrifying it is to think that you might have to ditch in the Bering Sea, far from any civilization.
Bottom line
A brand new Spirit Airlines Airbus A321neo had a pretty eventful diversion yesterday, whereby passengers were told to prepare for a water landing. While aircraft divert with some frequency, preparing for a water landing isn’t common. It remains to be seen what exactly happened that caused the pilots to prepare the cabin in this way. Fortunately the plane managed to land back at the airport safely.
What do you make of this Spirit Airlines diversion?
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