Ashley Olsen and her boyfriend, “Hangover” star Justin Bartha, were passengers on a flight that was suddenly grounded on Sunday night after a fire broke out in the cockpit.
The couple was aboard United Flight 27, en route from New York to Los Angeles, when it was forced to make an emergency landing at Dulles International Airport, outside Washington D.C.
An Access Hollywood source was also aboard the flight and recounted the harrowing experience.
“I was in the back of the plane and it started to smell like smoke or maybe a burning rubber smell and we didn’t know what it was,” the source told Access. “And then the pilot came on and said, ‘This is not a standard procedure…we’ll be making a landing at Dulles, and the situation is under control.’ Everybody in the back of the plane was a little bit freaked out.”
The source said a flight attendant was seen getting a fire extinguisher and bringing it towards the front of the plane. The flight attendant then told the passengers, “Everybody calm down, it’s fine, it’s fine…it’s OK.”
As the plane prepared to land, the source said fire trucks could be seen “all over the runway.”
Access’ source said firefighters then boarded the plane and told the passengers and crew, “the fire is out.”
Passengers then left the plane and made their way to the airport terminal, where the source said a first-class passenger explained that when the flight attendant opened the door that they were able to see flames in the cockpit of the plane.
Ashley and Justin were spotted in the terminal with the rest of the plane’s passengers. The actress was seen sitting with a dog in her lap. She appeared somewhat shaken by the events, but seemed to be relieved.
When Access’s source boarded a make-up flight on Monday from Dulles to Los Angeles, Ashley and Justin were spotted in the first class section of the plane. The actress was wearing a large hat and sunglasses
Access’ source stressed that the crew of United Flight 27 acted heroically in the face of a crisis.
“They saved our lives,” the source said.
Los Angeles based publicist Phil Lobel, who was also on the flight, echoed the source’s statement about the crew’s fine work, telling Access, “We are thankful for the skills of the flight crews — especially the pilots that landed us without being [able] to see anything through the cracked windshield. [They] got us home safely.”
On Monday, the FAA released a statement saying that the fire was contained by the time the flight landed and the cause has yet to be determined.
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