Hydraulic Problems Force Jet to Make Emergency Landing

Plane was headed to San Diego with scheduled stop in Phoenix

A TWA jet similar to the type involved in the recent Alaska Airlines crash experienced hydraulic problems before landing Friday night at Sky Harbor International Airport. The MD-80 with 149 people aboard landed safely.

Flight 299 was enroute to San Diego with a scheduled stop in Phoenix. A spokesman for TWA in St. Louis said there was no emergency declared. "It was a minor hydraulic problem," spokesman Jim Brown said.

An Alaska Airlines MD-83 crashed January 31 off the coast of Los Angeles, killing all 88 people aboard. With other airlines also reporting problems among planes in the MD-80 series, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered inspection of them all.

TWA officials say they will investigate to see what went wrong in Friday night's incident.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), February 12, 2000