17.05.2010 | United Airlines | Boeing 757 | JFK-LAX: Notlandung in IAD, Cockpit Fire

[NYKSwiss]

Cockpit Fire in US Flight Causes Emergency Landing 9

 

May 17 (Telegraph) -- A fire in the cockpit of a United

Airlines flight from New York to Los Angeles caused an emergency

landing outside Washington, according to the Federal Aviation

Administration.

The fire aboard the Boeing 757 was extinguished before the

plane landed Sunday night at Dulles International Airport and no

injuries were reported, FAA spokesman Holly Baker said.

Passenger Phil Lobel said he saw someone bring a fire

extinguisher to the cockpit during the incident and other

passengers later showed him pictures they took of flames in the

cockpit.

United Airlines spokesman Mike Trevino said the plane took

off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and was

diverted to Dulles, where it landed. All 105 passengers and seven

crew members got off safely, Trevino said. He did not have any

other details.

Mr Baker said the FAA was investigating the fire but to her

knowledge, there was no criminal activity involved.

The National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith

Holloway said Monday the board has assigned three people to

investigate the case. He said they will be examining the cockpit

to determine the cause of the fire.

Mr Lobel said the plane landed within about 20 minutes and a

half-dozen or more emergency vehicles met the aircraft in

Virginia. Some of the passengers on the flight were celebrities,

he said.