Frontier Airlines Flight Diverted to Chicago After Leaking Lavatory Floods Cabin
On Wednesday, a leaking lavatory sink caused the main cabin of Frontier Airlines flight 3655 traveling from Denver to Detroit to make an unscheduled diversion to Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
The aircraft, an Airbus A321neo registered as N688FR, left Denver International Airport shortly after 10:15 a.m., according to CBS News. Flight tracking data from FlightAware shows the jet took off at 11:03 a.m. Mountain time and cruised at about 33,000 feet over eastern Iowa before beginning its descent, FlightAware reported.
The crew declared an emergency over air traffic control radio recordings because water began flowing into the main cabin, raising concerns about potential damage to onboard electronics, CBS News reported. FlightAware said that the flight crew called “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” while cruising near the Iowa-Illinois border shortly before 1:30 p.m. Central time. Central time, telling controllers they were worried about the aircraft’s electronics.
Plumber shuts off water after cabin leak causes emergency landing
FlightAware recorded the landing at 1:53 p.m. Central time, about one hour and 50 minutes after takeoff.
A passenger told CBS News Chicago that a plumber traveling on the flight managed to shut the water off, but too much water had already escaped into the main cabin before the emergency landing.
Frontier Airlines confirmed that no injuries were reported among passengers or crew members, according to CBS News and NBC Chicago. The aircraft was parked at gate M40 at O’Hare for maintenance, CBS News reported.
Frontier Airlines uses replacement aircraft for Chicago to Detroit flight
Frontier Airlines arranged a replacement aircraft to transport passengers from Chicago to Detroit later on Wednesday, according to CBS News and NBC Chicago. Flightradar24 listed the onward Chicago to Detroit leg operating under the same flight number using a different A321neo, N655FR, with an estimated departure of about 5:50 p.m. Central time.
According to Flightradar24 and FlightAware, incident aircraft N688FR is documented in the FAA aircraft registry as a 2026-built Airbus A321-271NX whose US registration certificate was granted on September 4, 2026, meaning the jet had been registered for approximately two months.