"Upon inspection, it was discovered that the smell came from five pallets of fresh-scented laundry beads in the cargo hold," the Canadian TSB said.
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A British Airways Airbus A380 had to turn around after an "overpowering scent" of laundry detergent filled the plane, making people feel sick and dizzy, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said.
Data from Flightradar24 shows the superjumbo jet was flying from Washington, DC, to London Heathrow on July 7 when it U-turned over Newfoundland before landing at Boston.
According to the TSB's summary of the incident, which Business Insider has seen, the cabin and flight crew reported "dizziness, nausea, and headaches." It added that the pilots then conducted a fumes checklist and declared the urgency signal PAN-PAN.
The Canadian TSB said the plane landed without further incident while the fire service stood by.
"Upon inspection, it was discovered that the smell came from five pallets of fresh-scented laundry beads in the cargo hold," it added.
The aircraft, with the registration G-XLEC, flew back to London two days later, per Flightradar24.
British Airways did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.
It is unknown how many people were on the plane, but British Airways A380s carry a maximum of 469 passengers.
Since the A380 is so large, only some airports have the facilities for it, which likely played a role in the decision to land in Boston. British Airways uses the double-decker jet on its Boston to London route, so it wouldn't disrupt service as much as landing at a remote airport.
In May, an Air France Boeing 787 was diverted to the remote Canadian territory of Nunavut after a burning smell was detected. The airline had to cancel another flight to reroute a 777 to retrieve the passengers.
