A Boeing 777 left Billings at about 5:30 p.m. Monday after making an emergency landing Sunday and subsequently being grounded.
The El Al Airlines jet was transporting about 300 people from Tel Aviv to Los Angeles when an indicator warned of a possible fire in the airplane’s right engine. The aircraft made an unplanned stop at Billings Logan International airport and while the passengers left on a replacement 777 Sunday night, the original jet sat on the tarmac until El Al mechanics sorted out its issues.
Kevin Ploehn, acting director of aviation and transit, said the mechanics arrived on the second airplane from Newark. They spent Monday working on the right engine and replaced a few parts including fire extinguishers the pilot deployed as a precaution before landing in Billings.
“If there was a fire it was very small and centralized,” said Ploehn. “We don’t have all the details on that but (the mechanics) made it airworthy and took off yesterday.”
The Federal Aviation Administration sent officials from Helena to Billings to inspect the plane before it took flight, said Allen Kenitzer, FAA spokesperson.
Kenitzer said the inspectors arrived sometime Monday afternoon and cleared the aircraft for takeoff.
- Source: http://billingsgazette.com
Kat Healy and friend Victor Sargent deliver kosher food to stranded El Al passengers at the Billings airport on Sunday. Members of the Billings Congregation Beth Aaron used emergency funds to help feed the passengers after their Boeing 777 made an emergency landing at Logan Airport.
About 300 international travelers found themselves stuck in the Billings Logan International Airport on Sunday without access to food, and members of the Billings community did their part to help make a bad situation a little easier to bear.
Donna Healy jumped into action when she heard a El Al Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Los Angeles made an unplanned stop in Billings. As a member of Congregation Beth Aaron, a Jewish community in Billings, Healy understands that many of the folks in Israel and aboard the flight keep a kosher diet. With the help of her daughter Kat Healy and Kat’s friend Victor Sargent, she decided to feed as many as possible.
“You just don’t often get a planeload of Israelis in Billings, and we thought we should do what we could to make them comfortable, and kosher food is a part of that,” Healy said.
She picked up fruits, cereal, crackers and hummus, among other snacks, but also provided other items like deodorant and diapers.
Healy said Beth Aaron keeps an emergency fund for events like Sunday’s and is paying for the goods she delivered.
A rabbi from Bozeman also made the trip to Billings and delivered a large quantity of food.
Michael Eisenberg was one of the stranded travelers who benefited from the surprise meal.
“Once the rabbis came, there was more than enough. Tons. People in Billings can eat bagels for a month,” Eisenberg said.
He praised the care his fellow travelers were shown while stuck in the sequester area and kept the experience in perspective.
“I missed a couple meetings today in (San Francisco). But you know what the definition of a good flight is? One where you land safely and get to walk away from. It’s all good,” Eisenberg said.
- Source: http://billingsgazette.com
A passenger airplane carrying nearly 300 people made an emergency landing in Billings Sunday morning after the crew reported an engine fire warning in one of the aircraft's two engines.
Israeli airline El Al landed the Boeing 777 shortly before 6 a.m., because warning lights showed a fire in the right engine.
A Billings airport fire official confirmed that there were 279 people plus crew members aboard.
Fire crews from around Billings were on hand as the plane landed.
No fire was visible. Originally, the airliner was going to make a first, low-level pass before landing, but instead just landed.
Mike Glancy, chief of the Aircraft Rescue Firefighting Division at the Billings airport, said that although no flames were visible, the pilot discharged fire bottles — fire extinguishers — at the right engine.
A passenger on board, Soroush Arani of Los Angeles, said the flight was to have taken passengers from Tel Aviv to Los Angeles, but the airplane experienced turbulence, he said.
Shortly after that, a flight attendant announced that the pilots had seen a cockpit light indicating a fire in the right engine and that the plane would land at the nearest airport — Billings.
"I was very glad we were in the States," Arani said. "There are lots of airports. I'm glad this didn't happen anywhere else."
Because of the aircraft's large size, it could not park at the terminal. Instead, a landing ladder was used to unload passengers.
Billings has no customs agents at the airport for flights.
Glancy said that customs officials were en route from Great Falls this morning and were expected sometime after 1 p.m.
Calls to U.S. Customs and Border Protection offices were not immediately returned.
Passengers were removed from the aircraft and then bused to an airport terminal in a process that took about 30 minutes. Glancy said the passengers were being sequestered in a Billings airport terminal.
A spare aircraft from Newark, N.J., was being dispatched to Billings to enable passengers to complete their journey to Los Angeles International Airport.
El Al was making arrangements to feed the passengers and was making lodging accommodations for the crew, which numbered 10 to 12, Glancy said.
Arani said he flies with El Al three or four times per year and has never experienced anything like Sunday's events.
"We did not have any difficulty on the airplane at all" regarding the emergency landing, Arani said. "The way (the pilots) handled it was very professional."
After flying over the Atlantic Ocean for several hours, Arani said he was glad the issue occurred over land rather than over the ocean.
Airport personnel were working Sunday morning to remove wheelchairs and strollers from the aircraft.
El Al reportedly has six 777s in its fleet. The aircraft is primarily used for transcontinental flights and has a range of about 6,000 miles.
Story and photo gallery: http://billingsgazette.com
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