A flight from the Spanish airline Iberia covering the Madrid-Miami route this Tuesday suffered a serious incident on board about 15 to 20 minutes after takeoff, which forced the aircraft to urgently return to Adolfo Suárez Airport.
Fortunately, the landing was successfully completed despite the difficult experience. The incident occurred shortly after two in the afternoon (Spanish time), that is, eight in the morning (Miami time).
The nearly 300 passengers on the plane experienced moments of terror when they saw smoke beginning to come out of the cabin and suddenly the air conditioning turned off.
Merrye González, a Cuban resident in Miami who was traveling on that plane after using it as a connection from another flight arriving from Berlin, detailed her harsh experience to journalist Mario Vallejo.
He recounts that about 15 minutes into the flight, they smelled something burning and smoke began to come out of the cabin. He says the plane was bouncing and jolting, as if it were hitting stones, that it felt like it was nosediving, and that people started to scream.
It says that in the midst of the difficult situation, many -including her- even sent messages to their family or friends saying goodbye.
Some who were sitting nearby shook hands as a sign of encouragement at a moment when they thought they wouldn't survive.
González explained that during the difficult moments they went through, a flight attendant who approached to offer them support was crying, deeply moved as a crew member by what was happening.
"I didn't think we were going to survive," says Merrye, who praised the pilot's ability to bring them safely to land, but had harsh words for the airline regarding the misinformation and mistreatment afterward.
According to the traveler's testimony, they were detained in an area of the airport where they had no access to water or food and stayed there for many hours, being moved from one place to another.
They complain that no one told them or informed them about anything, and much less did anyone come by to offer them psychological support.
It is reported that although fortunately there were no human lives lost, some dogs did die in the area of the plane designated for the transportation of animals, and it was heartbreaking to see a woman crying for her pets.
Merrye explains that after many hours, she was taken to a Meliá hotel with the promise of traveling on a flight this Wednesday that was supposed to depart at 11:40 a.m. from Barajas.
Flight that, according to real-time flight platforms, left at 12:03 PM today (Spanish time) and is scheduled to land at 10:25 AM (local time in Miami).
What is the official information?
The event has had little coverage in Spanish media so far.
El Debate reported that the incident began a few minutes after takeoff "due to a problem with the air conditioning and pressurization systems," which the airline stated "could not be anticipated beforehand."
The source adds that when these were turned off, the smoke stopped coming out and that although the aircraft could have continued its journey, "they returned to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport in an emergency, as required by protocol.”
The landing occurred normally, without any incidents, and the aircraft managed to clear the runway followed by the firefighters.
The note adds that after landing, the flight was canceled and that all passengers were rebooked on other flights departing throughout this Wednesday and Thursday. Those who needed it were provided with a hotel for the night.
The aforementioned source indicated that Iberia explained that this type of incident is not common to occur, but neither is it "something extraordinary."
"They believe it has not been a serious incident, because, as explained earlier, 'when the air conditioning system turned off, the smoke stopped coming out.'"
Such statements clash with those of several Iberia employees, who acknowledged to El Debate that these types of incidents have occurred before, although this time "the smoke and the smell of burning were more intense."
A few months ago, air traffic controllers, through their X account, responded to a user on the social network regarding another similar incident that these situations "are serious and involve diverting traffic, closing runways, delays, activating emergency services, etc."
"What is clear is that the vast majority of these situations are resolved without serious consequences. This shows how reliable and safe aviation is," they concluded.
However, it is clear that the dozens of travelers flying on IB6117 this Tuesday are unlikely to forget it easily.
What do you think?
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