‘Odour’ forces plane to land mid-flight with five people taken to hospital

An American Airlines flight had to be diverted and five passengers taken to hospital after an ‘odour’ was smelled on board.

AA Flight 2118 left Orlando International Airport for Phoenix Sky Harbor at 5.40pm local time on Sunday

Crew reported an ‘odour’ in the flight deck and cabin, the airline told Metro.

Audio captured from air traffic control communication captured the moment staff called for emergency responders in Houston. The pilot said: ‘I’m gonna have some transports here out of the airport on this. I’m gonna need probably 4 transport units.’

The plane landed at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport just before 7.10pm local time, according to aviation tracking data.

Four flight attendants and one passenger was taken to the hospital ‘out of an abundance of caution’, AA said.