From the Associated Press:
A Continental Airlines jet bound for Houston from Tokyo experienced engine trouble over the Pacific Ocean and made an emergency landing early Tuesday morning at Cold Bay on the Alaska Peninsula.
The twin-engine Boeing 777 carrying 241 passengers and at least 15 crew members, landed just after 4 a.m. at Cold Bay's airport, according to Gordon Bliss, an operations officer with the Federal Aviation Administration. No injuries were reported.
Pilots on Flight 6 received warning of reduced oil pressure in one of the engines and shut it down as a precaution, said Continental spokesman David Messing. Procedure then called for the plane to be diverted to the nearest airport, he said.
"They were having problems with one engine, so they shut that one down and put the plane down before anything got worse," Bliss said.
The flight took off from Tokyo at 3:31 p.m. Japanese time, Messing said. It landed at Cold Bay almost six hours later, at 4:07 a.m. Alaska Daylight Time.
Passengers remained on board for several hours before local residents were able to ferry them in private vehicles to the local school and community center, said Karen Montoya, public affairs officer for the Aleutians East Borough. The small local community rallied around the visitors, bringing them donuts and bottled water. Most of the passengers reportedly do not speak English.
"Cold Bay has a history of taking care of people in this situation," Montoya said. "This is the second time there's been an emergency landing there in three years."
In 2001, Delta Flight 79 from Los Angeles to Tokyo landed with 220 passengers. Cold Bay's 10,000-foot runway, the fifth longest in Alaska, was built by the U.S. military during World War II and can handle large jets. The community of 70 to 90 residents is located almost 650 miles southwest of Anchorage near the tip of the Alaska Peninsula.
A replacement jet was to be flown from New York to pick up the passengers and was expected in Cold Bay on Tuesday afternoon, according to Bliss and Montoya.
A Continental Airlines jet bound for Houston from Tokyo experienced engine trouble over the Pacific Ocean and made an emergency landing early Tuesday morning at Cold Bay on the Alaska Peninsula.
The twin-engine Boeing 777 carrying 241 passengers and at least 15 crew members, landed just after 4 a.m. at Cold Bay's airport, according to Gordon Bliss, an operations officer with the Federal Aviation Administration. No injuries were reported.
Pilots on Flight 6 received warning of reduced oil pressure in one of the engines and shut it down as a precaution, said Continental spokesman David Messing. Procedure then called for the plane to be diverted to the nearest airport, he said.
"They were having problems with one engine, so they shut that one down and put the plane down before anything got worse," Bliss said.
The flight took off from Tokyo at 3:31 p.m. Japanese time, Messing said. It landed at Cold Bay almost six hours later, at 4:07 a.m. Alaska Daylight Time.
Passengers remained on board for several hours before local residents were able to ferry them in private vehicles to the local school and community center, said Karen Montoya, public affairs officer for the Aleutians East Borough. The small local community rallied around the visitors, bringing them donuts and bottled water. Most of the passengers reportedly do not speak English.
"Cold Bay has a history of taking care of people in this situation," Montoya said. "This is the second time there's been an emergency landing there in three years."
In 2001, Delta Flight 79 from Los Angeles to Tokyo landed with 220 passengers. Cold Bay's 10,000-foot runway, the fifth longest in Alaska, was built by the U.S. military during World War II and can handle large jets. The community of 70 to 90 residents is located almost 650 miles southwest of Anchorage near the tip of the Alaska Peninsula.
A replacement jet was to be flown from New York to pick up the passengers and was expected in Cold Bay on Tuesday afternoon, according to Bliss and Montoya.
