Inhaling strange smell from plane, 6 crew members hospitalized, series of flights canceled

According to People , the incident was recorded before passengers boarded American Airlines flight AA2055 from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to Los Angeles (USA).

A representative of the Mecklenburg County Emergency Medical Services (Medic) confirmed that those affected had “symptoms due to inhalation of an unidentified substance emitted from the aircraft.”

All seven people hospitalized, including six crew members and one gate worker, were determined to have minor injuries and were stable and discharged, NBC News reported.

The strange smell - suspected to be jet fuel - was detected at around 9pm. Initially only the flight crew felt uncomfortable, but the smell quickly spread, affecting nearby airport staff. Those affected all showed respiratory symptoms.

After the incident, the Airbus A321 was immediately taken out of service for technical inspection.

An American Airlines spokesperson confirmed to People that the incident was reported before passengers boarded the plane. “The crew member was treated on site, transported to a hospital for evaluation and released. The aircraft was taken out of service for inspection,” the spokesperson said.

However, the incident caused a chain reaction, causing a series of flights to be delayed and canceled, seriously affecting the schedules of thousands of passengers.

The incident occurred as American Airlines was experiencing technical problems in several systems, causing further chaos at Charlotte airport - the airline's largest hub.

In addition to the strange smell incident, bad weather (with thunderstorms) that day also caused the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to order the suspension of flights taking off from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at this airport.

According to WCNC , as of 10:35 p.m. the same day, there were 731 delayed flights and 132 canceled flights at this airport.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/hit-mui-la-tu-may-bay-6-thanh-vien-to-bay-nhap-vien-loat-chuyen-bi-huy-20250630165139117.htm