Emergency light diverts plane to Twin Falls

A United Airlines 737 that took off from Boise made an unscheduled landing at Joslin Field, Magic Valley Regional Airport Sunday morning.

Denver-bound flight 1220 was carrying 118 passengers at the time, said Airport Manager Bill Carberry.

"They had something on the left engine on departure from Boise," he said. "They notified the tower here."

The Twin Falls Fire Department responded with three trucks and 10 firefighters, said Battalion Chief Gary Earl.

"(The plane) landed without incident in the late morning," Carberry said. "People deplaned and mechanics looked at it. It was a very precautionary type of thing."

The plane landed at Joslin Field at 11:04 a.m. and resumed its flight just after 3 p.m., said Jenna Obluck, a spokeswoman for United Airlines.

"Basically, there was a warning light indicating engine generator fault. They needed to investigate that immediately," she said.

"They safely landed," she added. "It wasn't an emergency landing."

On the ground, mechanics conducted standard safety tests.

"They examined the problem and determined they could safely continue on to Denver," Obluck said. "It was not a flight safety problem.

"The most important thing is that everyone was OK and got to go where they wanted to go," she added.

Fonte: Rebecca Meany (Times-News - 21/12/2004)