Posted on: Sunday, January 5, 2003

Low-flying 747 shocks residents

Advertiser Staff and News Services

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating reports that a China Airlines jumbo jet flew dangerously close to a high-rise near Waikiki yesterday morning.

Ana Marie Vaisanen said she could see passengers inside the Boeing 747 as it swept past her 12th-floor condominium unit at Century Center around 7 a.m. yesterday.

"This roar became louder and louder and louder ... and I look out and there is a 747," Vaisanen said.

An FAA spokesman at the agency's regional office in Los Angeles said there were reports that China Airlines Flight 17 heading for Honolulu International Airport's Runway 26 at 6:55 a.m. flew very low over parts of the city. He said log reports showed that one observer said the jumbo jet "passed level with the 21st floor of the Century Center." The Century Center is 41 stories.

"There were lots of calls to the local Police Department from people wanting to know what was going on," the FAA spokesman in Los Angeles said.

Residents said it was extraordinary to see a jet on approach to Honolulu International over the Ala Wai side of Waikiki.

Building resident Sylvia Thomas was walking her dog when she saw the jet.

"It went behind the building and came out the other side," she said.