Cathay Pacific 777 makes emergency landing on Aleutian Islands

A Cathay Pacific Airways Boeing 777-300ER made an emergency landing at a US military airport in Alaska due to smoke in the aircraft.

Cathay said in a statement that flight CX884, en route from Hong Kong to Los Angeles July 29, diverted to Eareckson Air Station on Alaska’s Aleutian Islands "due to smoke detected in the aircraft."

The 777 was carrying 276 passengers and 18 crew. "All passengers and crew are safe," Cathay said. American Airlines and LAN codeshared on the flight.

Cathay said it is sending a relief flight to Eareckson Air Station. Cathay Pacific director-service delivery James Ginns said in a statement, "The captain of CX884 made exactly the right decision to divert the flight as a precautionary measure. We understand that this action resulted in a long and arduous journey for those onboard the diverted flight and we apologize for the inconvenience caused.

We will launch a thorough investigation into what caused the smoke that was detected on the aircraft."

(Aaron Karp - ATWOnline News)