Some drama on our Intercaribbean flight #410 from Tortola to the Dom Republic December 21, 2021. A 90 minute flight, 20 passengers. Marched out on the runway for take off in Tortola, then back while they changed a light. Then back and boarded. Officious female flight attendant gets her chance to be a star with the seat belt and life vest and we are off. But shortly after takeoff it becomes hot. At first a little then a little more. By half an hour barf bags have become fans. The Flight attendant patrols once but makes no announcement or assurance concerning what is clearly a problem. By an hour into the flight there is an odour of smoke and five minutes later you can see it, faint grey. Alarms begin to go off and are very quickly shut down but Attendant. Fellow passengers react, but don’t scream or leave their seats. But the panic is palpable. No news from Attendant or flight deck. Smoke thickens and I actually began to wonder if this is how it ends. Then we descend to about 3000 feet and smoke begins to clear as the cabin depressurizes and we rocket over fields to an emergency landing surrounded by hazmat suits and fire trucks. We sit isolated on the tarmac for another 15 minutes before being permitted to disembark. No explanation, no apology: “have a nice day”. Upon arriving home we sorted out our luggage and found several plastic items melted and fused. One, a tube of sun screen, was melted and blackened, very close I think to catching fire. This was very nearly a horrible end and tragedy. Cannot recommend the Airline.
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