Thursday May 25, 2000

Pilot averts trouble, returns safely to SFO COMPILED FROM EXAMINER STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A United Airlines Boeing 737 bound for Seattle was forced to return to San Francisco International Airport shortly after takeoff after its navigational system failed, an airport spokesman said. Flight 2134, with more than 130 passengers aboard, was 20 minutes into its 7:30 p.m. flight on Wednesday when passengers were told they would be returning to San Francisco, said Dan Dinnocenti, an airport spokesman.

United Airlines officials were not immediately available for comment.

The navigational system allows pilots to track flights from one destination to another, Dinnocenti said, adding that it helps pilots "find out where they are and where they're going."

"If the weather had been bad, it could have been a problem," Dinnocenti said. "The pilot was able to fly by visual reference and landed safely."

Pete Jansons, 38, said he and other passengers learned later what the problem was. "At 30,000 feet, the navigational system was telling them the plane was on the ground, that's what I was told," he said.

Airport officials dispatched four fire trucks to monitor the plane's landing.

"It was a rough landing," Jansons said. "The plane was bouncing all over the place. We were all just sitting there thinking we almost died.

http://www.examiner.com/000525/0525plane.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), May 25, 2000