NEWARK -- A U.S. Airways flight with 111 people aboard made an emergency landing at Newark International Airport on Wednesday morning when crew members smelled smoke minutes after it left La Guardia Airport.

The airliner was back in service within a few hours after a maintenance crew replaced a part in the plane's air conditioning system, said Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Flight 2362 had taken off from La Guardia at 10:23 a.m., bound for Greensboro, N.C. A few minutes later, the crew reported a smell of smoke in the cockpit and requested permission to make an emergency landing in Newark, Peters said.

As a precaution, emergency fire crews met the plane on the runway when it landed at 10:43 a.m., Peters said. The Boeing 737 taxied to the gate under its own power and the passengers disembarked routinely, said U.S. Airways spokesman Rick Schoen.

After the maintenance crew changed the part, the plane was given a clean bill of health, Peters said, adding that the matter is closed as far as the FAA is concerned.

The passengers were placed on other flights to complete their trips, Schoen said.

http://www.bergen.com/region/pitsmoke200012286.htm

-- Doris (nocents@bellsouth.net), December 29, 2000