False alarm causes scares on Southwest flight

July 5, 2007

Seattle, Washington - A Southwest Airlines flight from Salt Lake City landed safely at Sea-Tac Airport after a false alarm indicated a fire in a storage area, according to the FAA.

A Southwest Airlines flight from Salt Lake City landed safely at Sea-Tac Airport after a false alarm indicated a fire in a storage area, according to the FAA.

Flight 2981 landed safely and passengers and crew evacuated the plane on a jetway while firefighters searched the cargo hold.

Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said there was no fire, but the problem was a malfunction with the sensor in the cargo area.

FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the pilot believed there was a fire in the forward storage area and discharged the halon fire extinguisher. He says once it was discharged, the light went out.