An Air China Boeing 747 passenger plane got stuck in the asphalt of Los Angeles International Airport early Sunday morning, but there were no injuries, authorities said.
The pilot of the jumbo jet apparently turned too sharply while taxiing toward a runway at the airport, said Diana Joubert of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Joubert said the mishap involving the Beijing-bound Air China Flight 984 was reported at 1:55 AM, 15 minutes after its scheduled departure.
Airport representative Nancy Castles said that the right main gear of the aircraft crossed into a non-access area of an intersection, and the gear sank 1.5-3.0 feet into asphalt. The asphalt in that area is only eight to 10 centimeters deep and not constructed to support the weight of a fully fueled and loaded 747, according to Castles.
The 313 passengers on board were deplaned at 3:10 AM and bused to the terminal, where they remained as of 8:00 AM.
"Fuel is currently being emptied out of the aircraft," said Castles. "Airport construction crews are digging trenches to put steel plates under the tires, so that tractors will be able to pull the plane out of the hole."
The runway remained closed, but airfield traffic was reportedly light and the incident had little impact.
(Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2005)
