OAKLAND — A Southwest Airlines flight taxied back to the gate Monday morning after reports of smoke coming from the plane prompted an emergency response, officials said.
Southwest Airlines flight No. 1673 that was scheduled to depart Oakland International Airport for Burbank at 6:10 a.m. never made it to the runway after somebody reported smoke near one of its engines.
Oakland fire and rescue crews responded, but Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Tracey Chin said the call they received was canceled within a minute or two after it was received.
“There was no evidence of any fire on the aircraft,” Oakland Airport spokesman Keonnis Taylor said. “The aircraft never stopped working under its own ability.”
No other flights were cancelled or delayed either leaving or arriving because of the snafu, Taylor said. The same plane departed without incident just before 10 a.m.
Dozens of Southwest flights were cancelled Monday as the airline worked to make sure all of its engines similar to one involved in a midair explosion last week are safe. The explosion killed a Wells Fargo executive.
The Federal Aviation Administration and European regulators last week ordered emergency inspections of all engines similar to the one that exploded. The airline said it has voluntarily stepped up its efforts to meet the inspections well before the three-week deadline.
Southwest acknowledged it cancelled 40 flights Sunday, and flightaware.com, a web site that tracks cancellations, said it cancelled 129 flights Monday, about 3 percent of its fleet.