According to reports the aircraft took off from Toronto at around 9.45pm local time on Monday night and around ten minutes into the flight was forced to turn back and make an “emergency landing” due to what passengers said the pilot described as an “electrical problem.”
However, the airline has refuted the aircraft made an “emergency landing”, saying instead it had suffered “a technical problem and, for safety reasons, returned to the airport. No emergency landing was declared.”
Passengers were reportedly put up in hotels overnight and on Tuesday SATA said it was trying to find a way to get them to the Azores.
The aircraft, an Airbus 310-225, was allegedly carrying 192 passengers, a number of whom spoke to the Portuguese media following the incident and said they had smelled a “burning smell” shortly after take-off from Pearson International.
Speaking to Lusa News Agency a Portuguese emigrant living in Brampton, Canada, who was travelling on Sata International flight RZO320 to the Azores for a holiday, said: “When we took off I smelled burning. After that they said we would be returning to Toronto, but they never said exactly what the problem was. We waited a few hours and they eventually informed us that the flight would be cancelled.”
The passenger lamented a lack of immediate information from those responsible for the Azorean airline regarding their journey to Portugal.
Reports also claim emergency vehicles were awaiting the aircraft upon its return to Toronto.