Colonie -- Plane from Maine, bound for Cincinnati, began to overheat and had to land

A Comair passenger jet bound for Cincinnati from Bangor, Maine, made an emergency landing Monday evening at Albany International Airport because an overheated engine had to be shut down, officials said.

The plane, carrying 52 passengers and crew, landed without incident just before 6:30 p.m., said airport spokesman Doug Myers.

"The plane taxied to a jet way and the passengers walked off the plane,'' he said. No emergency exits or chutes were used.

Myers said the plane was just east of Albany at about 18,000 feet when the left, or pilot's side, engine began overheating. The crew declared an emergency and shut down the engine of the Canadair CL-65, a regional jet.

In addition to the airport's own firefighting crews, volunteer departments responded and waited near the runway.

The plane was Comair Flight 5294. Comair does not have service to Albany, but does have an agreement with Delta Airlines, which made arrangements for the passengers to continue on to Cincinnati on flights that normally leave Albany, fly a different route to their final destinations or stay overnight at various hotels and continue their trip today.

Myers said that by 9:30 p.m. the passengers had either left the airport or had gone to hotels.

The plane will remain at Albany until it is repaired and the company can determine what caused the engine to overheat.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyKey=38142&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=7/25/00

-- Doris (reaper1@mindspring.com), July 25, 2000