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Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles makes emergency landing on remote US military airport after smoke appears in cabin

The overnight flight was forced to stop in the remote Aleutian Islands

Caroline Mortimer
Thursday 30 July 2015 08:53 EDT
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The Cathay Pacific flight was forced to make an emergency stop on the remote Alaskan island
The Cathay Pacific flight was forced to make an emergency stop on the remote Alaskan island (AFP/Getty Images)

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A Cathay Pacific flight was forced to make an emergency landing in a remote US military airport on Wednesday after smoke was spotted in the aircraft.

According to the airline’s officials, the Boeing 777, which was due to fly from Hong Kong to Los Angeles landed, in the Aleutian Islands, a remote island chain between Alaska and Russia.

All 276 passengers and 18 crew members were reported to be safe.

Ian Gregor, a US Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said the landing had gone without incident before dawn at the air base on the small island of Shemya which is around 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.

The aircraft was inspected and deemed to be safe to travel. Passengers were taken to Anchorage before the airline transferred them onto another place to take them to Los Angeles.

Boeing declined to comment.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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