Passengers on an early flight from La Guardia Airport got a frightening jolt just moments after takeoff yesterday when they heard a loud bang followed by the pilot’s chilling words: “We experienced a catastrophic engine failure.”
The malfunction sent jet parts raining down on College Point, Queens, shattering windshields and blasting the rooftop of a plumbing business that had its skylight destroyed.
No one was injured.
The American Airlines pilot was able to land safely at Kennedy Airport, where emergency vehicles and personnel were waiting.
There’s no evidence the jet hit geese – the culprits responsible for felling a US Airways flight that took off from La Guardia in January and landed in the Hudson River.
In yesterday’s incident, the Chicago-bound MD-83 took off at 8:15 a.m. with 88 passengers and five crew. It reached 1,800 feet when trouble struck.
The pilot declared an emergency and told controllers he was headed to Kennedy.
“I was scared to death,” said passenger Donna Leary, who heard a loud noise, “like something hit the engine.”
“The plane was steady after the initial noise,” Leary said. “Then the pilot came on [the loudspeakers] and said, ‘We experienced a catastrophic engine failure, and we’re going to make an emer- gency landing at JFK.’
“We went through emergency procedures. We were told to brace for impact,” Leary said. “We wrap ped our arms around our knees and put our heads down.”
Controllers at La Guardia, Kennedy and the New York approach center on Long Island worked quickly to get the jet on the ground.
Small and large jet-engine parts – the biggest about three feet long – were scattered over College Point, some hitting the building that houses Varsity Plumbing and Heating.
“It sounded like an explosion, followed by 30 to 60 seconds of debris raining down,” said Varsity owner Bob Bellini. “We knew it was a plane. We were very concerned.”
American Airlines workers towed the 10-year-old jet to a hangar and removed its engine for study.
An airline spokesman said the fuselage appeared undamaged, and the jet would be put back in service.
The passengers were bused back to La Guardia and put on flights to Chicago.