FIREMEN PUT OFF FIRE ON WRONG PLANE IN CHINA

AIR CHINA AIRCRAFT

Fire fighters at the Fuzhou Changle International Airport in China's Fujian province on Thursday accidentally hosed a Fuzhou Airlines jet with extinguishing foam instead of an Air China aircraft.

The firefighters mistakenly hosed the plane after the pilot of a Fuzhou Airlines aircraft informed the control tower that he had spotted sparks coming from an engine of a nearby Air China Boeing 737-800. The Fuzhou Airlines plane was also a Boeing 737-800.

When the fire trucks were dispatched, the Air China jet turned off its engine, without any abnormalities and nobody was hurt in the incident. The Fuzhou Airlines plane, which was parked beside the Air China plane of the same model, however, had smoke exhaust coming from the engine nozzle and due to the urgency of the situation and to ensure everything was foolproof, the field commander decided to water down Fuzhou Airlines' FU6577. 

However, when the firefighters realized the mistake, they turned the rescue procedure to Air China's CA1822. Air China reports that the sparks from its plane stopped when the engine in question was powered down and the sparks may have been caused by oil on the aircraft’s tail. It also said that the matter was under investigation

The Fuzhou Airlines plane that was mistakenly sprayed with foam, however, had to be towed back to the gate and the engine was washed, inspected and tested.

The incident led to the delay of about 30 flights at the airport.