An onboard fire scare forced a Saudia plane with 98 passengers and crew on board to make an emergency landing at Sana'a International Airport early Monday morning. Flight 477 of Saudi Arabian Airlines from Jeddah to Johannesburg was over Parim located between the Yemeni and Ethiopian airspace at 5:47 A.M. when its crew was informed by Sana'a air traffic control of a fire in its luggage hold, a statement from the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) said. The pilot requested an emergency landing in Sana'a and the plane touched down safely at 6:30 A.M. The passengers and crew were taken to the airport terminal. No one on board was injured. Preliminary information showed that it was a false alarm. But, as a precautionary measure, Saudia sent a substitute plane to take the passengers to Johannesburg, CAGA said.
