WA - All OK After DC-10 Emergency Landing

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All OK After DC-10 Emergency

Some tense moments at Sea-Tac Airport Monday afternoon. A Northwest Airlines DC-10 had to make an emergency landing soon after take-off because of an engine problem. Passengers aboard the Amsterdam-bound flight heard a loud pop soon after take-off and witnesses on the ground said smoke was seen coming from the number two engine, located in the tail of the jumbo-jet. Sea-Tac spokesman Bob Parker says the plane dumped its fuel and circled for about 30-minutes before making a smooth landing. Two-hundred-49 passengers and crew members were aboard the plane and none was injured. Meanwhile, KING Five News reports some passengers were shaken after a Continental flight arriving from Newark made an emergency landing Monday afternoon after a warning light came on in the cockpit indicating a problem with the jetliner's flaps. The plane landed without incident and it was determined the light was malfunctioning.

SEATAC - August 1, 2000

http://home.digitalcity.com/seattle/news/article.dci?provider=metronetworks&category=News&article=538831

-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), August 01, 2000

Answers

Seattle Northwest

Plane trouble at Sea-Tac

Northwest jet makes emergency landing; Continental, Alaska flights also disrupted

Tuesday, August 1, 2000

By VANESSA HO AND ISAAC BAKER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS

Emergency crews at Sea-Tac Airport were kept busy yesterday when three planes in separate incidents landed after encountering problems that included failed engines, electrical systems and flaps.

The first came about 2 p.m. when a Northwest Airlines DC-10 made an emergency landing at Sea-Tac after the pilot reported engine trouble, and people on the ground reported seeing flames shooting from the rear engine.

About 10 minutes after the Northwest flight landed yesterday, emergency crews raced to another gate, where the pilot of a Continental Airlines 737 jet had reported problems with its flaps.

Then, about 8 p.m., an Alaska Airlines MD-80 bound for San Jose, Calif., returned to Sea-Tac after one of its two generators failed.

Of the Northwest incident, airport spokesman Bob Parker said the landing was not technically an emergency, but an "unscheduled, precautionary" landing.

"But for the people on the plane, I'm sure it would feel like an emergency landing," he said.

The crew of Flight 34, bound for Amsterdam, Netherlands, reported that one of the plane's three engines overheated minutes after takeoff, Northwest spokesman Scott Ingham said.

Passengers heard a loud bang, and the captain shut the engine down. The plane climbed to about 8,000 feet so the pilots could safely jettison nearly 100,000 pounds of fuel, Ingham said.

The plane returned to the airport 31 minutes later with emergency crews waiting on the ground. The plane landed safely, and the cause of the engine failure is under investigation.

The scare came six days after the crash of an Air France Concorde, killing 114, after an engine burst into flames.

When the engine went out, the shock caused an overheard compartment to fly open, said Nancy Smith of Graham, traveling with her husband and daughter.

"It ka-boomed and shuddered, and I knew something was wrong," she said.

Most of the passengers were forced to spend the night at a Tacoma hotel.

The Delta (sic) flight, carrying 154 passengers from Newark, N.J., landed without incident.

The Alaska Airlines flight also landed without any further problems. Airline spokesman Jack Evans said the plane could have operated with just one generator, but a backup system was also out of service. That prompted the pilots to return to Sea-Tac.

"They had only one generator available, and, by the book, you turn the plane around," he said.

P-I reporter Hector Castro contributed to this report.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), August 01, 2000.


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