Smoke in cockpit diverts flight

An emergency was declared at Chicago Midway Airport after the cabin of a Southwest Airlines flight carrying 109 passengers filled with what appeared to be smoke during takeoff Monday night.

Southwest Airlines officials said the smoke that filled the main passenger cabin of Flight 718, which took off from Midway at 7:56 p.m., was de-icing fluid that vaporized through an air intake during takeoff.

The cabin was filled with the substance for about 45 seconds until crews onboard were able to clear the vapors, said Southwest Airlines spokesman Brad Hawkins.

The flight was headed for San Jose International Airport but was diverted to St. Louis after the scare as a precautionary measure, Hawkins said.

“It has a very distinct odor, so they (the pilots) realized exactly what it was and explained it to the customers right away,” Hawkins said. St, Louis was not the last stop for the 109 on board, as the plane was forced to head to Dallas to pick up a new flight crew because of “crew time issues” before heading to San Jose late Monday.

Southwest officials said no one was harmed during the flight.