Jet dell´AA è atterrato in emergenza a Chicago con un motore in fiamme (inglese)

[Zarco]

Engine Trouble Forces Philadelphia-Bound Flight Back To O'Hare

No injuries were reported after an American Airlines flight headed for Philadelphia was forced to return to O'Hare International Airport at 2:14 p.m., just moments after takeoff because of engine problems.

It was American Airlines flight no. 1374, with 107 passengers aboard.

Witnesses on the ground said they could see "orange flames" shooting out of the engines. Witnesses said the plane then turned around and headed back. Witnesses also said they heard an explosion before spotting the fire near the engines on the plane.

A police dispatcher said parts from the plane also fell to the ground. American Airlines spokesperson Mary Frances Fagan confirmed that portions of the outer shield of the engine were missing and said the damage may have been caused by "a bird strike." Officials in Niles were examining a piece of metal that may have come from the plane. The piece reportedly fell onto an empty softball field.

A woman calling from the airport said the plane was surrounded by emergency vehicles as it landed. The woman said the engine area of the plane appeared to be blackened.

Fagan said the engine was damaged, and there was a fire inside an engine on the left side. The fire was extinguished by the time the plane landed, she said.

All the passengers deplaned by the stairs of the aircraft, and nobody was injured, according to Fagan.

Fagan said the crew aboard the flight was very experienced. She said the pilot had logged 4600 hours aboard the aircraft, and the copilot had logged 3600 hours.

Other flights into and out of O'Hare Airport were not disrupted by the incident.

Fonte e immagini: NBC10 Online - 16/09/2004

[Zarco]

Carissimi,

secondo l´agenzia Associated Press, il volatile ingerito da una delle turbine del Super 80 dell´AA sarebbe un´oca.

Ciao

-o-Ô-o-

Zarco

[Zarco]

Carissimi,

contrariamente a quanto precedentemente annunciato dalla stampa americana e da me trascritto qui, non si è trattato di un´oca ma di un cormorano il volatile che ha causato l´incendio al motore del Super MD-80 di AA.

Segue una materia di oggi.

Ciao

Zarco

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Bird that caused engine fire identified

A cormorant, and not a goose, was to blame for forcing an American Airlines plane to make an emergency landing at O'Hare International Airport after the bird was sucked into an engine, apparently causing a fire.

A bird expert examined feathers and other material found in the engine and was able to link it to a mangled, wingless dead cormorant found on a sidewalk in Chicago's Edison Park neighborhood after Thursday's incident, American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said.

The airline initially said the plane had flown through a flock of geese.

"It kind of makes sense ... it's a smaller, denser bird," Fagan said of a cormorant. "If you think about causing problems in an engine (a cormorant) might offer more resistance against the blades" than a goose.

Cormorants are migratory birds that typically grow to be more than 2 feet long with a wingspan of about 4 feet, according to a U.S. Geological Survey Web site.

Fagan said the damaged plane likely will be returned to service once the engine is replaced.

No one was injured when the MD-80 bound for Philadelphia returned to O'Hare.

Fonte: Associated Press - 18/09/2004