L A S V E G A S, Sept. 19

Passengers on a Vegas-bound plane felt they gambled with their lives when their flight ran into trouble. Im just glad Im off that plane and on the ground, I can tell you that, said shaken passenger Sandy Janouskovec, who endured an unscheduled stop and two landings punctuated by bang sounds the second of which resulted in an engine fire.

The American Trans Air 727, which left from Chicagos Midway Airport, made an unscheduled stop in Nebraska to get some extra fuel. But when it landed, several passengers said they heard a bang coming from the rear of the craft.

Leaving for Vegas The plane was checked, but no problems were found and the plane was soon on its way to Las Vegas.

When it landed there, the bang sound was heard again this time accompanied by smoke coming from one of the planes engines.

We had to make a stop in Lincoln, Nebraska, to add some fuel and I thought I heard a bang, said passenger Mary Simon. I heard another bang when we landed in Las Vegas. It was very scary for a while.

Fire in the Engine A few minutes after landing in Las Vegas, a fire broke out inside the engine from which the smoke had come.

Fire crews quickly put out the fire, and the plane continued to the gate under its own power.

There were no injuries reported. The plane had been scheduled for a return trip to Midway, but that flight was canceled.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/travel/DailyNews/enginefire000919.html

-- Doris (reaper@pacifier.com), September 19, 2000

Answers

I've been very itchy about flying, ever since the first of the year and all those mishaps like this....and I stll am.

-- R2D2 (r2d2@earthend.net), September 19, 2000.