SAN DIEGO - Wing-Flap Glitch Forces Jet's Emergency Landing

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread

[Fair use for education and research purpose only]

Title: Wing-Flap Glitch Forces Jet's Emergency Landing

UNION-TRIBUNE April 11, 2000

SAN DIEGO -- A Southwest Airlines jet was unable to extend its wing flaps on arrival at Lindbergh Field yesterday morning and was forced to make an emergency landing.

No one was injured, airport and airline officials said.

The Boeing 737 departed from Las Vegas with 107 passengers and five crew members. The plane landed shortly before 8 a.m. after circling the airport for about 40 minutes.

Nervous passengers had noticed the jet was not descending after they had been told to fasten their seat belts for a scheduled 7:10 a.m. arrival.

As a precaution, fire engines and crews were summoned.

Melanie Jones, a spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines in Dallas, said passengers were never in danger. The wing flaps, which slow the aircraft, were deployed in a position suitable for landing at most other airports. However, because of the steep terrain surrounding San Diego International Airport Lindbergh Field and its comparatively short runway, the flaps are required to be extended even more, she said.

"They (the pilots) went through a checklist to see if there were different things they could do to extend the flaps all the way," Jones said. "When they couldn't, and (given that) the plane was not too heavy, they knew it would be safe and they came on in."

On March 5, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 skidded off the end of a runway at Burbank Airport onto a nearby street. That flight also originated from Las Vegas. The National Transportation Safety Board is looking into whether the pilot landed too far down the runway in that incident.

) Copyright 2000 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

http://www.uniontrib.com/news/metro/20000411-0010_3m11jet.html

====================

-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), April 11, 2000


Moderation questions? read the FAQ