Two O’Hare Flights Safe in Separate Incidents

One plane landed safely at O’Hare International Airport on Sunday after reports of smoke in the cockpit, and another was delayed for more than two hours when flight attendants became concerned about some passengers’ behavior.

The pilot of United Airlines Flight 525, from Boston, noticed smoke in the cockpit as the Airbus A320 was close to landing, United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said.

The plane, carrying 58 passengers and six crew members, landed safely at O’Hare around 7:20 a.m.

One person reported a sprained ankle after exiting by an inflated chute, said Wendy Abrams, a spokeswoman for the city’s aviation department.

The cause of the smoke was being investigated, McCarthy said; no fire was reported.

Meanwhile, United Airlines Flight 1498 to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was delayed at O’Hare when a flight attendant reported “security concerns” before takeoff, McCarthy said.

The attendant notified the pilot that some of the 111 passengers were not in the correct seats, a passenger had entered the bathroom and another was using a cellphone, said Chicago police spokesman Marcel Bright.

“All these things were going on, and at this point the pilot decided to return to the gate based upon these observations made by the flight crew,” Bright said.

“No unnecessary chances are going to be taken. When a pilot or airline believes there is a problem, we will check it out.”

Chicago police dogs checked out the plane after it returned to the terminal, but officers did not find any problems and let all passengers reboard after being rescreened, Bright said.

No one was arrested.

“No one got in any serious trouble, except their flight was delayed,” Bright said.

The plane left O’Hare around 9:30 a.m., about 2 1/2 hours after its scheduled departure, McCarthy said.