Nearly 200 people flying from sunny Las Vegas to a still-frigid Toronto were jolted back to reality with a little more than your average post-trip blues this week when their plane had to make an emergency landing before even making it back into Canada.
Air Canada Rouge Flight 1702 departed as usual from the U.S. party city shortly after 11 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, but did not make its scheduled 6:30 p.m. EDT arrival at Toronto Pearson International Airport due to a worrying smell of smoke in the cockpit.
Out of an abundance of caution, pilots diverted to Iowa — perhaps the biggest contrast possible after the hustle and bustle of Vegas — landing safely at Des Moines International Airport at 4:10 p.m. local time.
After the A321 aircraft was inspected on the ground (as is standard procedure), it was allowed to proceed to a gate, where passengers deplaned, only to face delays of more than eight hours until they could board a substitute flight.
The route is a very regular one for the carrier, operating as 1702 at the same time each and every day.
Air Canada said in a statement to media that no injuries were reported as a result of the incident, though we can only assume there were some very frustrated travellers among the 176 who were on board, given that AC1702 didn’t end up landing in Toronto until 2:33 a.m. Thursday morning.
