Technical Scare Turns Airplane Back to Myrtle Beach

Jan. 25, 2006
Minutes after takeoff Tuesday, the pilot of a plane bound for Atlanta with 38 passengers onboard detected nose gear trouble and headed back.

Minutes after takeoff Tuesday, the pilot of a plane bound for Atlanta with 38 passengers onboard detected nose gear trouble and headed back.

As the pilot circled for a half-hour to burn fuel before trying to land at Myrtle Beach International Airport, rescue crews on the ground scrambled for the plane's return.

The pilot's call put emergency plans into motion on the ground, said Horry County Emergency Management Director Randy Webster.

A number of emergency vehicles were waiting near the runway, but they were called off after the plane landed safely shortly before 11 a.m.

Webster said in-flight emergencies of different types occur about three times a month involving the airport.

"Our response is the same because we don't know until it lands if it's secure," he said.

On Tuesday, one passenger wondered if she had reached Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport when the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet 200 finally landed.

"I saw one of the men who puts baggage on the plane, and I thought he looked familiar," Brenda Dufresne-Benda said.

From her 12th-row seat near the rear of the plane she was unaware the pilot had announced a problem and of his intentions to turn around.

"I'm a little nervous about flying now on this plane," she said as she and others from flight 4175 waited in line for flights to their destinations on other airlines. "I guess ignorance is bliss."

Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight No. 4175 was bound for Atlanta, a flight that normally takes about an hour and 20 minutes.

It was safely back on the ground in less than an hour, according to airline officials.

Todd Bailey, spokesman for the airline, said the plane's pilot reacted to an alert and decided to turn around after talking with maintenance officials at the airline's operations control center in Atlanta.

Officials at the airport said the pilot reported that the plane's nose gear wouldn't fully retract.

On landing, it was no problem, said Bob Kemp, director of Myrtle Beach International Airport. The passengers got off safely.

The 50-seat regional jet will remain at the Myrtle Beach airport, where maintenance workers from Atlantic Southeast Airlines will review it and make any needed repairs, Bailey said. Once it is deemed safe, it will resume flying, he said. The airline sent a maintenance team to Myrtle Beach immediately after the incident.

Passengers received new tickets on airlines that included U.S. Airways and Northwest Airlines and were awaiting their flights.

Phyllis Freeman from Washington, D.C., was hoping to have lunch with her daughter in Atlanta before flying back home.

She said her daughter called her near her scheduled approach time.

"She called me and said, 'I'm in the airport.' I said, 'I am too, but not your airport.'"

Myrtle Beach Sun News

Knight Ridder content Copyright 2005 provided via The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.