Smoke filled the cabin of an El Al plane during takeoff at Ben-Gurion Airport Sunday morning. A state of emergency was ordered as the takeoff was aborted. Cleaning fluid in the engine was later found to be the cause. The Boeing 737, heading to Zurich was grounded during takeoff after “a smell of smoke” was noticed and 128 passengers, plus crew members were evacuated using emergency slides. No one was injured. Exiting the Plane Michael Freund The smoke was found to be the result of a cleaning agent left in the engine after routine maintenance last week, according to the company’s spokesman. Arutz Sheva's Michael Freund was onboard the plane during the incident: I was just grateful to G-d that the problem was discovered before we had taken off We were on the runway for takeoff around 6:45am. The plane was taxiing and picking up speed, when it suddenly began to slow down before coming to a full, and somewhat abrupt, stop. There was an odor of smoke in the cabin, and passengers began looking around somewhat anxiously, wondering what was happening. The pilot got on the intercom and told us to get up from our seats and to exit the plane as calmly and as quickly as possible. The inflatable emergency slides were opened, and we each had to slide down out of the plane onto the tarmac. Fire trucks and ambulances arrived almost immediately, and all the passengers were told to move away from the plane and to stand on the grass along the side of the runway. There was no sense of panic, and people filed off the plane in an orderly fashion - perhaps more orderly than on a typical El Al flight. Grateful Passengers Michael Freund Even though many people were planning to make connecting flights in Zurich in order to continue to other destinations, everyone seemed to accept the situation about as gracefully as one could expect. I was just grateful to G-d that the problem was discovered before we had taken off, and that we were able to get off the plane safely and unscathed. I'm sure that I won't be the only who will be reciting the HaGomel blessing in shul this week. "In the coming hours El Al will find a way to fly the passengers to their destinations,” the airline said. An investigation is expected to be launched into the incident.
