Report of smoke odor returns plane to Logan

A Delta Airlines flight from Boston to New York was forced to turn around and return to Logan International Airport last night after a passenger reported smelling smoke, officials from the Massachusetts Port Authority and the Federal Aviation Administration said.

A flight attendant aboard Delta Flight 1935, who told authorities she did not smell the smoke, responded to the passenger's report and alerted the captain, who decided to return to Boston, FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac said.

Salac said it is ultimately the captain's decision to land a plane in an emergency.

"The captain is in charge," she said. "It's his choice to be cautious. It's his call to proceed or to come back and land. He was being prudent."

Salac said the flight returned without incident at 9:51 p.m. but she did not know how long it was in the air before the captain chose to turn around.

Delta's website shows the MD-88 aircraft, which can hold up to 142 passengers, was headed for LaGuardia Airport. The flight was scheduled to take off from Logan at 8:30 p.m. but did not actually depart until 10 minutes later.

Last month, Logan officials participated in an emergency preparedness exercise, dealing with a mock plane crash and monitoring the glitches in the airport's ability to handle a crisis. In the end, authorities from Massport concluded that the airport's strategy still had some kinks to iron out.

Salac said Delta plans to examine the flight maintenance log to investigate last night's possible problem.