CAMPAIGN ’88 : Scare on Media Plane
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An airliner carrying reporters accompanying Bush on a campaign swing landed safely at O’Hare International Airport on Monday after dumping fuel over Lake Michigan after a malfunction.
The crew of the Boeing 727-100 believed that the flaps, which provide extra lift on take-off and landing, had not retracted after the plane left the Chicago airport.
Fifty-one passengers were aboard the Key Air charter flight, which was bound for Spokane, Wash. Bush had just completed an address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Chicago and was on board Air Force Two, which continued toward Spokane.
The Key Air pilot had reported a problem with the same charter aircraft on Saturday when the plane produced smoke. The pilot said this was because of a vent on the engine starter.
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