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163 NWA passengers stranded; spent night at Saipan hotels
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Posted on Apr 16 2009
Over a hundred passengers from Japan were stranded at the Francisco C. Ada-Saipan International Airport after their aircraft made an emergency landing Wednesday.
It was around 5pm when pilots of Northwest Airlines Flight 73 informed the Commonwealth Ports Authority’s airport advisory service operator that the flight will make an unscheduled landing at the Saipan runway.
According to Guam-based Richard Parsons, spokesperson for Northwest Airlines, the flight had 163 passengers and was bound for Narita, Japan.
The plane was diverted to Saipan for maintenance.
“On April 15, NW Flight 73 from Guam to Narita diverted to Saipan due to maintenance. One hundred sixty-three passengers were on board,” he told Saipan Tribune, adding that it was not an “emergency landing.”
Parsons confirmed that all 163 passengers spent one night on Saipan and that all expenses were shouldered by Northwest Airlines.
“All passengers were accommodated at hotels [on] Saipan for the night…with regards to hotel expenses, we cover accommodation costs as our normal process in case of delays,” Parsons said.
It was confirmed that NW Flight 73 departed 9am Thursday from the Saipan airport.
Sources at the airport told Saipan Tribune that the aircraft was forced to land on Saipan due to a minor crack on the plane’s windshield, which was immediately fixed by the airline’s maintenance crew yesterday.
Parsons, however, did not respond when asked about the matter.
On Wednesday, CPA executive director Efrain F. Camacho said that all ports personnel, particularly the Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting crew, immediately assisted the plane. He said CPA alerted everybody and were on standby in the area throughout the process.
