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A Korean Air passenger plane which left Incheon International Airport for New York made an emergency landing at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, northern Japan Thursday afternoon. There were 299 passengers and 23 cabin crew on board KE081. According to the Korean Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the plane left Incheon at 11:03 a.m., but a message that the auxiliary power unit was on fire lit up at 2:33 p.m. while the plane was flying over Sakhalin, Russia.
The captain turned to the nearest airport, and arrived at the New Chitose Airport two and a half hours later at 5:01 p.m. It turned out, however, that the message had shown up due to a technical problem. The plane took off again for New York at 6:50 p.m. A KCASA official said, ¡°Emergency landings due to mechanical problems happen six to seven times a year. It is an inevitable procedure for safety¡¯s sake.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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