Delta jet makes emergency landing

A Minneapolis-bound Delta Airlines jet with about 125 people on board made an emergency landing because of engine problems shortly after takeoff from a Florida airport Sunday, authorities reported.

No one was injured and passengers aboard the Boeing 737-800 were placed on another airplane, arriving in the Twin Cities shortly before 3 p.m., 3 1/2 hours late, said Anthony Black, a Delta spokesman at company headquarters in Atlanta.

The original flight departed about 7:45 a.m. from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and almost immediately developed engine trouble, Black said. "It was early in the climb," he said.

Sheriff's deputies recovered pieces of what appeared to be the damaged engine from an area near the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport, said Greg Meyer, Broward County Aviation Department spokesman.

No injuries or serious damage was reported on the ground, said law enforcement officials.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen, in Atlanta, said the problem was a "contained" engine failure, meaning small parts such as fan blades came out the back of the engine. A more dangerous scenario would be if the pieces penetrated the engine's cover and were not contained, she said.

Bergen said the FAA has completed an initial inspection of the engine but it is not yet clear what caused the failure. She said no one reported birds in the area as a possible cause.

Black said the 119 passengers and six crew members on Flight 1846 changed airplanes and arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport about 2:45 p.m.

Delta operates about 750,000 flights a year and "contained" engine failures happen occasionally, Black said.

Black and Bergen said modern jets are designed to fly and operate with only one engine if necessary.

The possible causes of a contained engine failure could range from a bird going through the engine and damaging a blade to actual mechanical failure, Black said.

Bergen said flight crews can shut down a problem engine without it being considered a failure. The next most serious situation, she said, is a contained engine failure.

"It happens occasionally," Bergen said of the contained failure. "This would not be nearly as serious as an uncontained engine failure."