NWA Flight Turns back after Smoke Fills Cabin

A Northwest Airlines flight turned back to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Thursday evening after smoke filled the cabin.

No one was injured on Flight 756, which had been bound for Detroit. Kristen Heinmets, a spokeswoman for Northwest, said a minor engine problem caused the smoke and the plane returned to the Twin Cities as a precaution.

David Mech of St. Paul was among passengers on the aborted flight. Mech, 69, had to cancel a trip to Syracuse, N.Y., for a funeral after the Detroit flight was first delayed, then turned back. He missed a connection.

Flight 756 was scheduled to leave for Detroit at 3:14 p.m., but after 2 1/2 hours of delays, including switching a plane, the flight finally took off at 5:35 p.m., Mech said.

Five minutes later, he said, acrid smoke filled the cabin, but oxygen masks did not drop. Crew members told passengers that if they were having trouble they should breathe through their clothes, Mech said.

About 20 minutes later, the plane landed back in the Twin Cities.

Passengers boarded a different plane and landed in Detroit about four hours behind schedule, Heinmets said.

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