Updated at 1:32 p.m., Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Faulty oven forces Hawai'i-bound jet back to LAX
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — A faulty oven filled a jetliner cockpit with smoke Tuesday, forcing the Hawai'i-bound plane to circle back and return safely to Los Angeles International Airport, officials said.The 244 passengers and eight crew members aboard ATA Airlines Flight 4755 were not injured, airline spokeswoman Maya Wagle said.
The Boeing 757 took off at 9:05 a.m. and was a half-hour into a flight to Honolulu when the pilot declared an emergency because of smoke in the cockpit, said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
A malfunctioning oven situated next to the cockpit sent "a little bit of smoke" into the cockpit, Wagle said.
"We always put the safety of the passengers first," Wagle said.
The plane circled back to the airport and flew around to burn up fuel, then landed at 10:05 a.m., Gregor said.
The plane was expected to continue on to Hawai'i as soon as the oven was fixed, Wagle said.
She added that it was the first malfunction on an ATA flight in the airline's 34-year history.
