A plane was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Seattle, due to engine failure.
According to Kiro 7, the plane, traveling from Victoria to San Francisco, had to burn its remaining fuel so it could land.
The plane circled close to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) for about 30 minutes, before it was able to land safely shortly after 4 p.m. Friday. There were no injuries.
“They had the passengers prepare for the worst and had fire trucks at the airport, pretty scary lots of people were crying”, Alicia Allen whose brother was on the plane, tells Victoria Buzz.
According to Sea-Tac officials, smaller planes can’t dump fuel like larger aircraft. This means they must burn their fuel until they are light enough to land.
The plane, United flight 5248, is operated by SkyWest.
The cause of the engine failure in unclear, as of 4:11 p.m. Friday.
SkyWest released the following statement Friday afternoon:
“We are working to help customers continue their travel to San Francisco this evening, after SkyWest flight 5248, operating as United Express from Victoria, Canada to San Francisco, diverted to Seattle due to an engine indication.
The flight landed safely and all 47 passengers deplaned at the gate. Mechanics are inspecting the aircraft.”
