Cubreporter (Cubreporter)
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Post Number: 39
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| | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 8:32 am: | |
February 23, 2007
Wing-flap concern delays flight
After hours of false starts at John Wayne, then LAX, plane bound for Houston finally lands.
By Michael Alexander
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A plane taking off from John Wayne Airport for Houston on Thursday was forced to land in Los Angeles after the crew noticed a problem with its wing flaps, a Continental Airlines spokeswoman said.
No one was hurt, but when the plane took off from LAX an hour later, it was forced to land there again when the problem persisted, said airline spokeswoman Julie King. Passengers were moved to a new plane that arrived in Houston on Thursday evening.
"It's pretty unusual for a plane to come right back again," said LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles.
Continental Airlines flight 1598 took off at 6:34 a.m. The takeoff showed no problems, said John Wayne Airport spokeswoman Kelly Sledge.
But soon after, the crew noticed a problem.
"They saw there may be an issue with the leading edge flaps," King said, adding that as a precaution the pilot decided to divert the plane to LAX.
Los Angeles firefighters were standing by, but the landing went off without incident, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphries said.
The plane arrived at the gate at 8 a.m.; maintenance crews looked the plane over, then it departed at 9:30 a.m., King said. Within minutes, crew noticed the same problem, and it landed at the airport again, Castles said.
Passengers left on a new plane from LAX at 3:05 p.m. and landed in Houston at around 8 p.m. Central time.
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