The Airbus A350-900 with the registration D-AIXJ, operated by Lufthansa, had to turn around on February 6, 2021 shortly after take-off in Newark. According to Flightradar24, the machine was already shortly after Boston. The cause has not yet been clarified.
According to local media reports, numerous passengers and crew members who were in the rear of the long-haul jet complained of sudden nausea. The captain decided to return to New York-Newark Airport, where the victims were medically examined. The Airbus A350-900 was also extensively examined.
There were 413 people including the crew on flight LH41. The cause of the sudden nausea has not yet been clarified, but those affected should be doing well and have recovered shortly after leaving the machine. The smell is called a kind of ointment or balm. Whether a passenger had a product on board or whether it was defective was irrelevant to the Lufthansa captain. Following the principle of “Safety First”, he decided to land back in Newark.
Maintenance technicians then extensively scrutinized the jet and provisionally approved it after three days. The machine then returned to Munich by ferry and has been back in regular service since February 11, 2021. Incidentally, nothing was found that would indicate a malfunction of the D-AIXJ.