Atlanta, GA 1/6/2011 1:54:21 AM
A US jet was forced to make an emergency landing after a pilot spilled a cup of coffee.
The aeroplane was on its way from Chicago in the US to Frankfurt in
Germany, but diverted to Toronto after the pilot dropped his hot drink
on some of the plane’s equipment, causing it to send out a ‘7500 Code’
- which denotes a hijacking.
Although Transport Canada – transport regulator in the airspace where
the plane was - were alerted that the signal was an error by crew, but
the decision to divert the Boeing 777 was made anyway.
The 241 passengers and 14 air staff were then put on a different plane,
sent back to Chicago and stayed overnight before re-starting their
journey to Frankfurt.
A spokesperson for United Airlines, who operated the flight, said: “Our
review of the communications issue encountered on flight 940 continues,
so it's too soon to comment on any particulars that led to the
captain's decision to divert.
“But it is important to note the crew did maintain contact with
controllers, and the decision to divert to Toronto was the captain's.”
