No emergency declared for flight KX505 on December 27, 2017

In response to local media enquiries regarding Cayman Airways’ Chicago flight KX505 on Wednesday December 27, 2017, which landed normally at Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA) at 5:15pm, the airline confirms that the Flight Crew did not declare an emergency, and that in fact, no emergency situation existed, even though the ground emergency services were activated by the ORIA Air Traffic Control (ATC) for the landing.

The airline however wishes to advise that while the aircraft was descending through 8,000 feet, the Flight Crew acted diligently by requesting an “expedited landing” (priority) following the temporary occurrence of an unusual odour in the cabin that could not be identified.

The ORIA ATC unit, as a precautionary measure, treated this request as if it was an emergency,  and activated emergency services on the ground.

After the landing, the airline's maintenance crew accomplished extensive trouble shooting and checks, without finding any defects or anomalies with the aircraft that could have created an odour in the cabin. The aircraft was safely returned to service and has since conducted several flights without any recurrence of the unusual odour.

Cayman Airways' President & CEO, Fabian Whorms, said: "While this event was not an actual emergency, the pre-cautionary action taken by ORIA ATC was clearly one of due care and diligence, and for that we are appreciative".