Electrical problems force AirTran evacuation

Sat March 29 2003, 06:00 PM

AirTran Jet in Distress Lands Safely

(AP) NEW YORK - An AirTran Airways Boeing 717 managed to land safely after reporting multiple electrical problems as it approached La Guardia Airport.

The 78 passengers and five crew members on the flight from Atlanta were forced to evacuate by emergency chutes after the plane landed Wednesday eveningb [March 26]. Nine passengers suffered minor injuries.

The pilot aboard AirTran Flight 356 had notified authorities around 10:45 p.m. that the aircraft was experiencing problems, said Tad Hutcheson, a spokesman for AirTran Airways.

The pilot lost some electrical systems and computer screens in the cockpit malfunctioned. Lights in the plane's cabin went out, leaving passengers in darkness, Hutcheson said. The plane was about three miles from the airport at the time, he said.

But the pilot landed the plane safely, then opened the plane's emergency chutes.

"No other systems failed," Hutcheson said. "He was in full control of the aircraft at all times."

La Guardia's runways were closed until about 11:30 p.m.

Hutcheson said the cause of the electrical problems was not yet known, but the airline is cooperating with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Officials of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, had initially said there was smoke in the aircraft, but Hutcheson said there was none.

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Electrical problems force evacuation on flight from Atlanta

(AP) NEW YORK -- The cause of an electrical problem that grounded an AirTran Airways flight from Atlanta has not yet been determined. Passengers aboard a Boeing 717 flying into La Guardia Airport were forced to evacuate the plane Wednesday night because of an electrical malfunction aboard the aircraft.

AirTran officials said that about 10:45 p.m., the pilot aboard Flight 356, coming in from Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, notified authorities that the aircraft was experiencing multiple electrical problems.

The pilot lost some electrical systems and computer screens in the cockpit malfunctioned. Lights in the plane's cabin went out, leaving passengers in darkness.

But the pilot managed to land the plane safely at La Guardia then opened the plane's emergency chutes.

Seventy-eight passengers and five crew members aboard the flight were able to leave the plane through the chutes.

Nine passengers received minor injuries from using the chutes. Four were treated on the runway and five were transported to Elmhurst Hospital in Queens for treatment.

Officials say runways at La Guardia Airport were closed until about 11:30 p.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.