Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Smoke filled the cargo hold and cabin of Hawaiian Airlines flight HA47 to Honolulu, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing, the company said.
Hawaiian Airlines said in a statement that the plane, carrying 184 passengers and seven crew, was flying from Oakland to Honolulu Thursday when the incident occurred.
The company said the Airbus A321 neo flight "landed without incident" at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport at 11:36 a.m. "shortly after an in-flight emergency was declared."
However, passengers evacuated the plane on the tarmac by emergency slides where they were met by first responders.
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At least seven people were sent to the hospital due to "smoke-related symptoms," Hawaiian Airlines said.
John Snook, Hawaiian Airlines chief airlines officer, said in a press conference Thursday that it is unknown where the smoke originated from and there is no "visible evidence of fire."
He said the flight crew became aware of the situation when a smoke detector was triggered in the cargo hold about 20 minutes before landing as the plane was beginning its descent.
"What we do know is there was visible smoke in the cabin and there was also smoke indication in the cargo hold that set a warning off in the cockpit and that's what prompted the emergency response, the emergency landing," he said, adding the presence of smoke in the plane on arrival is what prompted the emergency evacuation.
In a statement, the company said it apologies for the incident and is "working with airport officials and first responders to support our passengers and respond to this event."
Uninjured passengers and crew were deplaned and transported to the terminal by bus, it said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investing the incident.
