Ashley Olsen on Grounded Flight: Reports Exaggerate 'Terrifying Airplane Fire'
Ashley Olsen's presence on a grounded American Airlines flight stirred a media frenzy on Monday.
American Airlines flight Flight 2421, heading from Dallas-Ft. Worth airport to Los Angeles, was grounded on Monday morning following what was reported as an "electrical odor" in the cockpit. The flight caused a delay of 211 passengers, one of them being actress Ashley Olsen.
The grounded flight was "not uncommon" according to a Dallas News blog, however a media frenzy occurred after it was discovered that Olsen was on the plane.
A headline written by Perez Hilton read: "Ashley Olsen Escapes Terrifying Airplane Fire!" Hilton also added that a "terrifying engine fire" had taken place on board. Another report, via AceShowbiz.com revealed that the actress had "escaped a potentially fatal plane crash on Monday."
In one article, TMZ reported that the plane was filled with smoke and pilots were forced to ground the plane immediately, within minutes of take off. But according to the Dallas report, the issue on the plane was a "common" reason for grounding flights.
No electrical fire was discovered on board.
TMZ later updated the story to report that passengers had only incurred a short delay.
"An American Airlines rep says the flight returned to the gate due to an electrical odor in the cockpit ... and a new Boeing 767 was brought in to take all 211 passengers to LAX. The rep says the flight was delayed less than 2 hours," the TMZ report read.
Hilton also ran an update which stated that the initial report had been "a bit exaggerated."
"How exaggerated?" Hilton asked. "There was NO fire!!!" he said adding that AA only confirmed that Olsen may have been in the "vicinity" of the airport, "so that part may have been true."