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NWA flight makes emergency landing at Saipan airport
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Posted on Apr 15 2009
Just a few hours after an extensive disaster drill at the Saipan International Airport, an actual emergency landing occurred at the site yesterday afternoon.
Saipan Tribune learned that a Northwest Airlines flight made an unscheduled landing at the Saipan airport due to a “minor” damage found on the plane.
The plane was confirmed on the ground of the airport between 4pm and 5pm yesterday and was being checked by Northwest Airlines personnel.
Reports had it that the “emergency landing” was prompted by a minor crack discovered on the plane’s windshield.
Over 170 passengers were aboard the aircraft and were believed to be stranded at the Saipan airport yesterday.
The flight, Saipan Tribune learned, was bound for Japan from Guam.
A call to the airline’s station manager on Saipan, Daisy Sablan, confirmed the presence of the Northwest plane on the airport ground around 6pm.
“Yes, it’s still on the ground…and we’re extremely busy,” she told Saipan Tribune, refusing to disclose further information.
She referred this reporter to Northwest Airline’s main office in Guam, which has yet to respond to Saipan Tribune’s inquiry as of press time.
Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Efrain F. Camacho, in a telephone interview, said that CPA’s Aircraft Rescue Firefighters immediately responded to the Northwest pilot’s call for an unscheduled landing at the Saipan airport.
He said CPA immediately alerted everybody and placed them on standby in the area throughout the “process.”
Declining to give further information, Camacho described the incident as a “precautionary” measure of the airline.
He said the aircraft landed safely at the runway and was immediately examined by airline personnel.
