American Airlines flight from SFO to Miami evacuated after smoke from laptop fills cabin

An American Airlines jet preparing to leave San Francisco International Airport for Miami had to be evacuated Friday after the aircraft’s cabin filled with smoke from a laptop, airline officials said.

Officials said there were three minor injuries in the incident, with one passenger requiring transport for treatment.

American Airlines Flight 2045 bound for Miami from SFO was set to depart shortly after 12 p.m., according to online flight records. As the Airbus A321 was about to pull away from the gate, there were multiple reports on social media of the plane cabin filling with smoke, forcing the emergency evacuation of the aircraft. 

It was later confirmed by American Airlines that crew members reported a fire in the back of the aircraft when they called in a mayday. The smoke was from a laptop in a customer’s bag, airline officials said.

“The bag was quickly removed by our crew members and all customers exited the aircraft,” the airline statement read. “We thank our crew members for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”  

Doug Yakel with SFO confirmed that the San Francisco Fire Department responded to the incident and the passengers on the flight used emergency chutes to get off the jet to the ground. American Airlines later said others deplaned via the jetbridge.

“American Airlines Flight 2045 from Miami was taxiing to the gate when the crew reported smoke in the cabin. The aircraft was evacuated and SFFD responded to extinguish the smoke source,” Yakel said in a statement. “Passengers are being transported back to the terminal. Three minor injuries reported from the evacuation, none requiring medical transport.”  

Yakel later confirmed that the flight was departing SFO for Miami and one of the three injured passengers did require transportation for treatment, contrary to the initial report.

Posts on social media illustrated the panic some of the passengers felt.

One evacuee tweeted via X, “It was desperate until someone opened the middle door and we were able to escape as we were all blocked in the hallway. Some people slightly injured.”

Another passenger tweeted, “There was a light stampede. People were screaming, ‘Fire in the back!’ and rushing towards the doors.”

“It sounds really terrifying. I can’t imagine. I’m so glad that they were on the ground when that happened. Had they been in the air, that could’ve been disastrous, when panic sets in and people aren’t sure what’s going on,” said American Airlines passengers Sharon Streets, who was waiting for her flight.

She and her co-worker, Terry Downey-Friman, said they’re glad no one was seriously hurt.

“I can’t believe it happened. I don’t want it happening on my flight,” said Downey-Freiman. “I don’t ever think of that. I have a laptop, sure. And you figure it’s safe because you’ve used it forever.  But sometimes, they do get hot.” 

They say after this incident, they will pay close attention to their latops in their bags.

“No one thinks about that. I don’t even put it in sleep mode, I just close it sometimes. [It’s a] new thing we need to pay attention to,” said Streets.

At last check, that flight was postponed to leave SFO on Friday night at 11:15 p.m., about 11 hours after the evacuation.

The FAA said they will investigate the incident.  

Da Lin contributed to this story.