Homepage > Boston News

Onions Cause Airplane Emergency

Crew Diverts To Boston After Being Overcome

POSTED: 7:47 am EDT March 22, 2008
UPDATED: 4:57 pm EDT March 22, 2008

Hold the onions! The crew of an Alitalia flight made an emergency landing at Logan International Airport after being overcome by noxious fumes.

However, the reports of a toxic chemical leak that sent Boston firefighters and emergency workers into their hazmat suits turned out to be five tons of minced onions.

The plane was bound to Miami from Milan Tuesday night when the crew was overcome by the odor and donned oxygen masks.

After inspecting the cargo in the aircraft, FAA spokesman Jim Peters said investigators determined the scare was caused by the vegetables.

“We narrowed it down to the 10,000 pounds of onions in the cargo hold,” he told The Boston Herald.

The onions were added to the FAA “No Fly List” and the cargo was trucked from Boston to Miami. The crew flew the plane to New York Friday.

Links We Like

Employers generally have options when it comes to hiring. Makes sure you present yourself as professionally as possible, or else. More

You can pick your friends, but not your family -- or your neighbors. Here's what you need to know about how to deal with yours. More

It was bound to happen. There are now applications for your cell phone that can help you avoid speeding tickets as well as traffic jams. Drive carefully. More

Featured On 5

Caregiving