A Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Minneapolis on Tuesday morning made an emergency call before landing safely at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, airport officials said.
The pilot of Delta Flight 987 made an "Alert 2" call at 11:36 a.m. while on approach to MSP. The Airbus A320 with 151 passengers on board landed without incident at 12:26 p.m., said airport spokeswoman Melissa Scovronski.
According to the FAA, an Alert 2 indicates that an aircraft is having major difficulties such as "positive indication of fire on board the aircraft; faulty landing gear; no hydraulic pressure or engine failure on a two-engine large aircraft. A difficult or crash landing may be expected."
The pilot reported having "pitch control" problems, Scovronski said.
A Delta spokesman said the call involved a possible problem with the autopilot system, but that had no effect on the flight.
"The pilot was able to hand fly the plane, and the plane taxied to the gate as normal," said Michael Thomas.
Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768
