Emergency Landing in St. Louis After Smoke Reported in Plane Lavatory

Passengers climb off the the wing of United Express flight 4423 after it made an emergency landing in St. Louis

A United Express flight was forced to make an emergency landing at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Tuesday morning after crew members reported smoke in the aircraft's lavatory shortly after takeoff.

The incident occurred aboard United Express Flight 4423, operated by GoJet Airlines, which departed from St. Louis at 6:40 a.m. en route to Chicago. According to a statement from GoJet Airlines, the crew reported a lavatory smoke warning shortly after takeoff and immediately notified air traffic control.

“We got smoke in the lav,” the pilot reported over the radio. “We’re going to come back… we might need one of the fire trucks to follow behind us.”

The CRJ-700 aircraft safely returned to the airport and landed just 12 minutes after departure, according to flight tracking data. Upon landing, the aircraft was evacuated on the runway as a precaution.

Footage captured by a passenger showed travelers climbing out onto the plane’s wings while flight attendants shouted instructions to leave all belongings behind.

“It didn’t really hit until they started talking about, ‘When we tell you to brace for impact, put your head down between your legs,’” said passenger Dominic Gagliardotto. “And when they said that, I texted my daughter, telling her I’ll always love her.”

Emergency responders from the St. Louis Fire Department assisted passengers in evacuating safely by helping them slide from the wings onto the tarmac. No injuries were reported.

“The aircraft landed safely, and Lambert Airport operations transported all passengers back to the terminal,” a GoJet spokesperson confirmed. “We arranged for a different aircraft, and all our customers successfully reached their destination.”

The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into the cause of the smoke alert. As of now, no fire was reported in the lavatory, but the warning system prompted emergency protocol.