AMERICAN FLIGHT DIVERTED OVER SMOKE

May 7, 2011
An American Airlines flight bound for San Francisco with 166 people on board made an emergency landing in Las Vegas on Friday after the crew smelled smoke in the cockpit, officials said.

American Airlines Flight 431, carrying 159 passengers and seven crew members, was headed to San Francisco from Miami when it was diverted to Las Vegas, American Airlines spokesman Ed Martell said.

"The pilots noted a whiff of smoke in the cockpit and procedure says anything like that you put the plane down as quickly and safely as you can," Martell said.

Martell said the Boeing 757 landed without incident at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, where passengers were being accommodated on other flights.

The plane was taken out of service while the airline determined what caused the smoke.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it would work with American Airlines to determine the cause of the smoke.


(Reuters)