A United Airlines flight on Wednesday had to make an emergency landing at Tampa International Airport due to an illuminated door indicator light. United Flight 2434 departed from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport at 3:42 pm (local time) and safely landed in Tampa at 4:35 pm, as reported by FlightAware, a flight tracking website. The aircraft in question is identified as an Airbus A319.
What did aviation expert say?
Aviation expert and former captain, John Cox, emphasised the importance of not overlooking or attempting to reset indicator lights. "You don’t ignore lights, and you don’t attempt to reset them and say, ‘Well, maybe it’s just a sensor,'" Cox stated, as per the wane.com.
The emergency diversion to Tampa was prompted by the activation of a door indicator light, according to a spokesperson from the airport. While the illumination of a door light might not initially appear significant, Cox emphasized the necessity of treating such indications seriously.
As per the retired captain, the crew's decision to divert is not unexpected, but the occurrence of this specific type of indicator light is not a routine aspect of air travel. “I have probably, in a 25-year career as an airline pilot, I might have had five or six, something like that,” Cox added.
Over 120 passengers onboard
The airline stated that there were 123 passengers and five crew members onboard the plane. United also said it’s making arrangements for those passengers “to complete their journeys at the earliest opportunity.”
Alaska Airlines aircraft incident
The incident took place days after a recent alarming event where a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines aircraft mid-flight. In the case of United Flight 2434, which was on its route from Sarasota, to Chicago, the pilots observed the activation of the open door indicator light. Taking precautionary measures, they promptly contacted airport authorities and opted to divert the plane to the nearest airport, which happened to be Tampa. This decision was made with a primary focus on ensuring passenger safety.
ALSO READ:
