http://www.boston.com/dailynews/113/nation/Pesticide_spill_forces_jet_to_:.shtml

Pesticide spill forces jet to land; three passengers hospitalized

By Associated Press, 4/23/2001 21:59

PHOENIX (AP) An American Airlines jet made an unscheduled landing Monday because pesticide leaking from a carry-on bag made passengers feel ill.

Three passengers on the flight from Los Angeles to Miami were hospitalized and later released. The plane, which had 167 people on board, later left Phoenix for Miami.

Several passengers complained of nausea and difficulty breathing after they were exposed to concentrated diazinon, a common pesticide, said fire department spokesman Doug Mummert.

He said the pesticide, which is widely available in home-improvement stores, had leaked from a bottle in a passenger's bag and onto the plane's carpet. The three people taken to the hospital had been sitting next to the spill and inhaled the fumes, Mummert said.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jerry Snyder said officials believed Gilberto Villeda of El Salvador took the pesticide on the plane by mistake. He was not detained but the FAA was considering fining him because the pesticide is forbidden on passenger flights, Snyder said.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001