Mobile phone video just released has shown evidence of passengers wearing life jackets as a flight made an emergency landing in Montego Bay on Sunday.
Travelers on the flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, received quite a scare when they were told to put on their life vests after a suspected mechanical issue forced their plane to return to Jamaica. The incident happened Sunday on Spirit Airlines flight 270 from Montego Bay to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
A Spirit spokesperson said the plane suffered a suspected mechanical issue and returned to Montego Bay out of an abundance of caution. But during the incident, travellers were instructed to don their life vests.
Video posted on social media showed passengers sporting the yellow life vests as a member of the flight crew can be heard giving instructions. Passengers said they were in the air for about 10 minutes when the pilot told everyone to prepare for a water landing.
Over 200 passengers were then told to put on the life vests. The plane did, however, did land safely, with no major issues as a result. No injuries were reported either.
"Safety is our top priority, and the aircraft will be thoroughly evaluated by our maintenance team," Spirit said in a statement.
"We apologize to our Guests for any inconvenience, and we arranged a new aircraft to complete the flight to Fort Lauderdale."