Las Vegas NV- 37 passengers and two crew members succumbed to fumes after a 737-200 (N666JT) landed at McCarran Airport. The 737 aircraft was taxing to parking when the crew reported fumes in the cockpit. Captain Brian Aldridge stopped the aircraft on the taxiway and ordered an immediate evacuation. Details remain sketchy as injured passengers report a sweet, vanilla smell just before the emergency doors were opened. One passenger reported a smell similar to cookie dough.
“It was a normal landing and we were going to the gate when everyone started coughing and gasping for breath. the doors came open as soon as we stopped and I got the hell out of there. It was hard to see and it smelled like chocolate chip cookies. ”
-Mrs Candace Baker, Las Vegas, NV
The surviving passengers and crew were rushed to University Medical Center where they are being treated for lung damage and chemical burns. Three are in the hospital’s ICU and are listed as critical.
NTSB investigators have said that this mishap is similar to one that occurred to a Boeing 737-United Flight 1313 which crashed while attempting to land at the Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, AZ on February 5, 2017.
UA1313 NTSB Accident Report pdf
