Smoke grounds flight to Japan

– Smoke from an air vent forced a Philippine Airlines flight to Japan to turn back minutes after taking off yesterday.

“There was information that the pilot detected smoke in the cabin. So, as part of safety measures, the pilot returned to the ground,” said Eric Apolonio, spokesperson for the civil aviation authority.

The Airbus A340-300 plane, carrying 222 passengers and 13 crew to Tokyo’s Haneda airport, returned to Manila 20 minutes after taking off. –AFP