A JetBlue passenger jet from Aruba to Boston made an emergency landing at the L.F. Wade International Airport after reports of smoke coming from the cockpit.

The jet landed at 5.05 p.m. with 70 passengers on board and was met by fire trucks and an ambulance.

Though pilots asked for a fast approach and were fearful the plane would catch fire, they landed safely in Bermuda. By 5.43 p.m. the emergency warning was cancelled and the aircraft was deemed secure with only maintenance issues to sort out.

A spokesperson for the airline said: "The aircraft has been checked out and cleared for departure. Flight number 774 from Aruba to Boston was diverted to Bermuda due to maintenance issues. The issue was an indication in the cargo bin. And indicator light in the cockpit came on.

"It could have been a bust light or smoke. As a precaution, the captain elected to divert and get it checked out. Customers deplaned and maintenance is checking it out."

According to Lieutenant Dana Lovell, of the Bermuda Fire Service, the plane landed safely and none of the passengers were injured.

"We had nine trucks on the scene and one ambulance. The plane was down safely. Smoke was coming from the flight controls and the pilot had contacted the tower to say he was able to turn off the controls that were smoking but couldn't turn off the alarms."

At press time last night, passengers were believed still to have been in a secured departure area at the airport, while JetBlue's website officially listed the plane as being scheduled to arrive in Boston at 8.36 p.m. EST.

Other flights were not expected to be affected due to the JetBlue landing.