Fumes in the cockpit of a Hawaiian-bound flight forced the aircraft to return to the Seattle airport shortly after taking off Monday afternoon. 

An airline spokesperson told FOX Business that Hawaiian Airlines flight HA21 returned to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after departure due to fumes in the cabin. It was heading to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. 

The captain declared an emergency to obtain priority handling and the Airbus 330 landed at SEA without incident, the airline said. 

Medical and fire personnel met the aircraft at the gate and all 273 passengers and 10 crewmembers deplaned safely. 

AMERICAN AIRLINES LIFTS NATIONWIDE GROUNDSTOP DUE TO ‘TECHNICAL ISSUE’ ON CHRISTMAS EVE

A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321 departs Los Angeles International Airport en route to Kailua-Kona on September 19, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Once the aircraft was cleared, the Port of Seattle Fire Department boarded to investigate and did not find any smoke or smell, airport spokesperson Perry Cooper told The Associated Press. 

Flight 21 left Seattle on Tuesday morning in a new aircraft.

A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321 taxis at San Diego International Airport on August 24, 2024 in San Diego, California. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images / Getty Images)

FOX Business has reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for further details. 

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SEATTLE — A Hawaiian airlines flight bound for Honolulu was forced to return to the Seattle airport shortly after takeoff due to reports of fumes in the cockpit, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The agency previously said the crew reported smoke on the flight deck but later changed that to fumes.

Hawaiian Airlines Flight 21, an Airbus A330, took off at about 1 p.m. Monday from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport carrying 273 passengers and 10 crew members.

It was heading to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu when the crew reported the fumes, airline spokesperson Marissa Villegas told The Associated Press in an email.

“The captain declared an emergency to obtain priority handling and the Airbus A330 landed at SEA without incident,” Villegas said, and fire and medical personnel met the aircraft at the gate as a precaution and everyone onboard safely deplaned.

Once the aircraft was cleared, the Port of Seattle Fire Department boarded to investigate and did not find any smoke or smell, airport spokesperson Perry Cooper said via email.

Flight 21 left Seattle on Tuesday morning in a new aircraft, according to Villegas.

“Safety is our priority, and we sincerely apologize for this event,” she said.

The FAA is investigating.

Author’s note: This is the seventeenth installment of my weekly column, Barely Relevant.

Well, it’s over. And, for what it’s worth, the Seattle Seahawks had a pretty darn good year. Pretty darn good is a tough phrase to unpack, though, mostly because it doesn’t mean anything. How can something be pretty good? Something is either good or it isn’t. In that respect, anything under good is bad. Thus, pretty good = bad. Thus, the Seattle Seahawks’ 2024 season.

Yes, we’re guaranteed to finish with a winning record. No, we didn’t make the playoffs. Yes, we have a brand-new coaching staff. No, our preseason free-agent additions didn’t pan out like we had hoped they would. Yes, some people blame our quarterback. No, some other people don’t think it’s our quarterback. Yes, our offensive line was again one of the worst in the NFL. No, we didn’t run the ball like we’d wanted. Yes, we should keep DK Metcalf. No, we should not keep DK Metcalf.

The wild mood swings involved in being a Seahawks fan have a juxtaposing pendulum effect that bounces like a migraine between my two temples. What are the answers? Who the hell knows? Certainly not John Schneider. And certainly not me. All he can do is attempt to juggle Geno and DK contracts while continuing to try to bring in quality free agents, and all I can do is hang out on my couch and go “yes!” and “damn!” which are words that have zero currency or worth.

Because no matter what anyone (us included) says over the next nine months, nothing else matters except how the Seahawks play – on the field during the regular season – next year. Oh, we’ll speculate wildly. And we’ll throw numbers around and feign confidence about new free agent this and new draft pick that, but it doesn’t matter a hell of beans because it’s just mind football.

This, right now, is as far as you’ll be from a game that matters all year.

For some reason, though, it doesn’t feel all that bad. Am I alone here? I don’t know about you, but my expectations weren’t that high. And I kind of like mind football. Of course, it sucks we missed the playoffs – and it CERTAINLY sucks the way we missed the playoffs (f-ing helmet bounce [I’m deflecting blame here]), but, hell, our defense looks promising. Our new head coach seems to know what he’s doing, our running backs look like ballers (if we can find an offensive coordinator who knows how to utilize them), and our second-year wide receiver is ready for lift-off.

If we can manage to figure out our quarterback situation and pick up some offensive linemen, Seattle could be poised to make things interesting. For some reason, I’m already ready to talk all about it. And the draft! There’s no mourning period here. Let’s hurry up and end this season and get into it.

Of course, in the grand scheme of things, nothing is going to matter until we start playing games that count again. But who wants to wait nine months to play football? Not me. That’s why every sportswriter you know is going to begin playing mind football right now.

Join us.