An Airbus 321 en route to Ft. Lauderdale, FL from New York’s La Guardia Airport on Saturday never made it off the runway.
Spirit Airlines Flight 197 was at the gate and preparing for departure when its 228 passengers and crew of seven started seeing smoke coming from the left side of the plane. The crew safely evacuated all passengers from the plane, officials said.
Firefighters who responded to the scene allegedly did not find any smoke, according to a police spokesperson from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
According to a statement released by Spirit Airlines, “The APU, a generator which provides electricity to the plane when it’s on the ground, automatically detected the issue and immediately turned itself off. All passengers safely exited the plane… “
The airline was working to rebook its passengers.