Passengers leap from wing of plane after emergency landing

A flight made an emergency landing at a US airport, sending panicked passengers leaping from a wing on to the ground after crew members screamed at them to get away from the aircraft, passengers and officials have said.

Southwest Flight 3562 took off from Phoenix on Sunday night heading to Dallas but about an hour later the crew noticed an unusual smell in the cabin, the airline said in a statement.

Passengers said they could feel heat from the vents shortly before the crew said the plane was going to make an emergency landing.

They were told to brace as the plane landed at Albuquerque International Sunport.

“I sent a couple of texts out to loved ones that you just don’t really want to have to send out,” Brandon Cox said.

He said it was an 8ft (2.44 metre) jump to the ground from the wing.

“I hit the ground really hard and was just shell-shocked that I just had to jump off the wing of an airplane,” he said.

Video he posted on Twitter showed people using a slide connected to another emergency exit.

A crew member can be heard shouting: “Move away from the aircraft now!”

Passenger David Fleck said he was surprised to discover there were no emergency slides near the exit door over the wing.

“It felt wrong when you’re up there. It was dark, cold and rainy,” he said. “It was disorienting. (You think), ‘Do I really just jump down?'”

The Albuquerque Fire Department tweeted that two people were taken to hospital. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known.

A Dallas police officer aboard the flight tweeted that flight attendants “did a great job!”

Southwest said it worked to get passengers onboard another flight to Dallas, and the aircraft will remain in Albuquerque where mechanics will inspect it.