Southwest flight grounded by coffee maker aroma

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The electrical smell that caused a Southwest Airlines Co flight to make an unexpected landing Sunday was caused by a coffee maker in the back of the aircraft, a company spokesman said on Monday.

The coffee maker was in the back galley of the Boeing 737 plane. The aircraft was examined and put back into service by 12:30 p.m. EDT (1630 GMT) Sunday, said Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz.

"Anything that might have touched the burner might have caused the electrical smell," Mainz said. He added that the problem was "fairly unusual," although it was not the first time it has happened.

Flight 693 bound for Orlando, Florida, departed from Bradley International Airport in Connecticut at 7:21 a.m. EDT Sunday. The plane, which held 131 passengers and 5 crew members, landed at Long Island Islip MacArthur Airport shortly before 8 a.m.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)