Plane Makes Unscheduled Stop in Fort-Lauderdale

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Link: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/florida/MGI7XCLK16C.html

Mar 19, 2000 - 11:15 PM

Plane Makes Unscheduled Stop in Fort-Lauderdale The Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A Laker Airways Boeing 727 made an unscheduled landing Sunday at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after a cockpit indicator light suggested potential hydraulic problems.

The plane carrying 173 passengers, had taken off from Freeport, Bahamas, for Pittsburgh at about 10 a.m. when it turned around about 90 miles north of Freeport.

No one was injured.

Laker Airways chief pilot Jim Phinney said the plane was diverted to a maintenance hub as a precaution.

"It turns out there was a hydraulic pump that was not producing the proper amount of pressure, so the pump was replaced," Phinney said.

The pump's partial failure did not pose any danger to the passengers, he said.

The passengers, mostly students on Spring Break and other vacationers, spent about four hours in the airport terminal waiting for the plane to be repaired. They reboarded about 4 p.m.

"I was frightened. I prayed the whole Rosary before the landing," said Pittsburgh retiree Gerry Sonosky. "My husband and I fly to Atlantic City every two months, and I've never had anything like this happen."

AP-ES-03-19-00 2314EST ) Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

-- Doris (whotfru@mindspring.com), March 20, 2000


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