AVIATION NEWS BRIEFS

*An AIR BERLIN Boeing 737 ran off the runway early this morning, after rejecting takeoff, at Dortmund, Germany. Flight 2450 was on International Service to Las Palmas, CI, Spain, with 165 passengers and crew onboard. While on its takeoff roll, the crew received a technical fault alert and rejected takeoff. They were unable to stop the 737 on the runway, and it went off the end of the runway. The aircraft came to a stop in soft ground. According to Air Berlin, no one onboard was injured. The Airline said that the 737 came to a stop on a downslope, but sustained no damage, and is expected to return to service later in the day, after it undergoes a flight inspection.

*A DELTA AIRLINES MD88 had to make an emergency return to Boston, Massachusetts, yesterday, due to smoke in the cockpit and passenger cabin. Flight 1379, on Domestic Service to New York La Guardia, with 34 passengers and crew onboard, was climbing thru 6000 feet, when the crew declared an emergency reporting smoke in the passenger cabin. Shortly thereafter the crew reported light smoke in the cockpit and advised ATC that the smoke in the passenger cabin had begun to dissipate. The MD88 landed back at Boston without incident, about 15 minutes after its initial departure, and was then removed from service in order to determine the cause of the smoke.

*A CHAUTAUQUA AIRLINES ERJ145 had to make an emergency return to Boston, Massachusetts, yesterday, due to smoke in the passenger cabin. Flight 6001 was on Domestic Service to Columbus, Ohio, on behalf of DELTA AIRLINES, with 38 passengers and 4 crew members onboard. Moments after liftoff from runway 27, the crew requested an emergency return due to smoke in the passenger cabin. The crew donned their O2 masks, leveled off at 3000 feet, and then climbed to 4000 feet, while configuring the aircraft for its return. While on finals, the crew reported that the smoke had dissipated, and the ERJ came in to make a safe landing. Passengers were offloaded at the gate and the aircraft was then removed from service in order to determine the cause of the smoke.

*An EXPRESSJET ERJ145 had to make an emergency landing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Friday, January 1. Flight 2025 was on Domestic Service on behalf of CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, from Houston, Texas, with 53 passengers and crew onboard, and was just about to begin its descent into Albuquerque, when the crew declared an emergency after receiving a cargo hold fire alert. The approach and landing into Albuquerque was accelerated, and the aircraft was met by Emergency Services upon touchdown. No one onboard was injured and a post flight inspection revealed that the fire alert was caused by a faulty smoke detector. The ERJ has since been repaired and returned to service.