Frontier Airlines flight F9-111 between San Juan (SJU) and Orlando (MCO) was forced to divert to Miami (MIA) on Saturday evening after several onboard fell ill.

Incident details

On December 31, the Airbus A321-200, registered N702FR, took off from San Juan in Puerto Rico for Orlando. Around two hours into the flight, while passing over the Bahamas, the flight deck crew requested a diversion to nearby Miami International Airport, citing illness onboard.

F9-111 landed safely on Runway 09 at 18:31 EST, 17 minutes after requesting the diversion, and was met by Miami-Dade’s Fire Rescue Team.

Eight crew members and one passenger reported dizziness and were treated by paramedics on the scene before being moved to local hospitals.

No details about the cause of the sudden illness have been released at the time of publication. Frontier Airlines has been approached for further information.

The seven-year-old Airbus A321 remained at Miami Airport over the weekend, returning to Orlando on Monday morning. It is unclear if the aircraft has returned to commercial service or will remain at Frontier’s Florida hub. According to Flightradar24, the jet was scheduled for a hop between Orlando and Windsor Locks (BLD) on Monday evening, though the subsequent flight has since been canceled.

N702FR was previously involved in a fume incident in 2018. Flying as F9-1851 between Islip (ISP) and Myrtle Beach (MYR), the aircraft returned to Islip shortly after departure, when crew members reported a strong odor within the flight deck. No smoke was detected onboard, and the jet landed safely back in New York around 15 minutes later. One crew member and two passengers were taken to the hospital, while seven others were treated directly at the airport.

Similar incidents

Though details of Saturday’s diversion have yet to be released, fume-related emergencies like N702FR’s 2018 incident are not a unique occurrence. Between 2018 and 2020, about 400 passengers and crew members required medical attention due to fume events.

In October 2022, an American Airlines flight to Bridgetown (BGI) returned to Miami after chemical fumes emanating from a passenger’s carry-on bag left several passengers and crew members unwell. Five of Flight 338’s crew members were taken to a local hospital, though no passengers required further medical treatment.

A more severe fume incident in 2015 led to the death of a Spirit Airlines pilot. Flight NK-708 recorded a strong, foul-smelling odor upon descent into Boston (BOS), with its flight crew members required to don oxygen masks to land the Airbus A319.

The pilot and the first officer reported serious symptoms, including nausea, body shakes, and exhaustion. At the same time, the captain was diagnosed with internal bleeding and blood values consistent with Triorthocresyl phosphate (TOCP) poisoning. Both returned to work shortly after the incident; however, the captain was noted to be struggling with hand-eye coordination and “unusual behavior.”

Fifty days after the incident, the captain suffered a fatal heart attack, leading to calls for an inquest into airline cabin air quality and aerotoxic syndrome.

In March 2022, US congress pushed forward legislation to strengthen the rules around fume events. If approved, the proposed Cabin Air Safety Act would direct the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to require flight, cabin, and ground crews on how to respond to such incidents and develop a standardized system for reporting fume events.

The bill remains in the introductory stage, having been referred onwards to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

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Source: Aviation Herald (1) (2)

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  Miami International Airport

  IATA/ICAO Code:

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  Country:

  United States

  CEO:

  Ralph Cutié

  Passenger Count :

  37,302,456 (2021)

  Runways :

  8L/26R - 2,621m (8,600ft) | 8R/26L - 3,202m (10,505ft) | 9/27 - 3,967m (13,015ft) | 12/30 - 2,853m (9,360ft)

  Terminals:

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