An evacuation slide that activated during a JetBlue flight from Fort Myers, Fla., to Boston, “exploded” into the cabin and pinned a flight attendant, a passenger says.
“It was scary. It was a loud boom, and when that happens on an airplane, it really gets your attention,” Frank O’Brien, 72, told the Boston Globe.
Orlando International Airport spokesman Rod Johnson says JetBlue flight 1266 was diverted there and landed at 3:41 p.m. Wednesday. No injuries were reported among the 74 passengers and four crew members.
JetBlue spokesman Anders Lindstrom explained that the slide partially deployed toward the aircraft's galley. At no point did a door open, and nothing was hanging off the side of the plane.
O’Brien says the inflated slide trapped a flight attendant between the cockpit and the first row of seats until it was punctured by a passenger.
"How he escaped without serious injuries, I don’t know,” the passenger told the Boston Globe.
Lindstrom says the plane has been taken out of service for inspection. He says it's too early to tell what went wrong.
A replacement aircraft was set to leave for Boston later.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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