A forty-year-old chartered jet that was on its way to Singapore from Narita, Japan, was forced to make an emergency stop at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Monday morning after smoke reportedly appeared inside its fuselage.

The jet, a Douglas Corporation DC-8 four-engine jet belonging to Air Transport International (ATI), was on its way to Singapore with 24 passengers and crew onboard when smoke reportedly developed inside the cargo hold.

The DC-8 aircraft operated by US-based ATI is the only DC-8 in the world configured to carry 32 passengers with the rest of its cabin for cargo.

The aircraft, with Tail number N-721CX, was chartered to carry 21 passengers from Narita to Singapore when it encountered problems while flying over the Philippine airspace.

At 8:50 a.m., the Manila Control Tower received a radio message from a certain Capt. Espinosa, the pilot of the aircraft, requesting for emergency status and asked for permission to land at the NAIA.

The request to land was immediately granted with airport’s medical and Fire and Rescue teams dispatched alongside the runway to wait for the flight’s arrival.