Flames spark on flight headed to New York, forced to return to Toronto

A flight heading from Toronto to New York City earlier this month had to turn around because of a “burnt electrical smell” in the cockpit.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said Endeavour Air Flight 4826 left Toronto’s Pearson International Airport the morning of February 3 and was headed to JFK airport in New York when the flight crew declared an emergency.

The safety board said the crew was investigating the smell on the Bombardier twin-engine jet when the captain’s-side windshield electrical heater control unit began emitting sparks and flames.

It said they put on oxygen masks, declared the emergency and requested a return to Toronto, where the plane landed without further incident.

It adds that the sparks and flames stopped when the flight crew turned off the windshield heat.

• Look: Private jet crashes onto Florida highway, kills 2