Spirit Airlines operated Airbus A320, registration N695NK, suffered an overhead compartment fire on flight NK256 from Dallas/Fort Worth to Orlando. It is currently assumed that this was triggered by a battery.

The crew was able to rely on the expert help of an expert on board, because by pure coincidence there was a retired firefighter in the cabin. The passenger helped the cabin crew to extinguish the fire and was able to provide the flight attendants, who are well trained for such cases, with additional specialist knowledge.

In view of the incident, the captain decided to cancel the flight that was actually supposed to go to Orlando. The machine requested a priority landing in Jacksonville, which was also successfully completed. The Airbus A320 was received on the ground by rescue workers and the airport fire brigade.

According to official information, ten passengers and/or crew members were at least slightly injured as a result of the incident. As a precaution, they were taken to a hospital near Jacksonville Airport. The NTSB has now launched a formal investigation. This should clarify what exactly caused the fire and how such events can be avoided in the future.