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Copyright 2001 Associated Press
All Rights Reserved
The Associated Press State & Local Wire
September 11, 2001, Tuesday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 409 words
HEADLINE: Plane makes emergency landing
BYLINE: By PAUL SINGER, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: CLEVELAND
BODY:
A Boeing 767 out of Boston made an emergency landing Tuesday at
Cleveland
Hopkins International Airport because of concerns that it may have a
bomb
aboard, said Mayor Michael R. White.
The plane was sitting on a runway at the airport's west end with
approximately 200 passengers on board. The mayor had said earlier that
the plane
was being evacuated, but an airport spokeswoman said the passengers
remained
inside.
It was unclear whether any passengers had been taken off the plane.
A SWAT team and bomb unit were at the scene. However, White said,
"As of this
moment we do not know that this plane is in stress or duress."
The airplane landed at about 10:45 a.m., but the airport released no
information about the plane's intended destination. Normally, planes of
this
size do not land at Hopkins.
"We have no confirmed information that this was a hijacking," the
mayor said.
But White said authorities are still concerned that there may be a bomb
aboard
the plane.
Cleveland police blocked off all entrances to the airport terminal,
and
bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in to the baggage pickup areas.
He said airport officials reported that a second airplane in
distress had
passed through Cleveland airspace earlier Tuesday morning before being
handed
off to Toledo. Officials at Toledo Express Airport did not immediately
have any
information about a plane headed from Cleveland.
Six other planes were diverted to Akron-Canton Airport, said airport
aviation
director Fred Krum. "They were told to get down," Krum said. The planes
were
bound for Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Boston when they were asked to land
at
Akron.
White said air traffic controllers said they could hear screaming
within the
Boeing 767. Additional details were not available.
WTAM radio reported that NASA had closed its Glenn Research Center,
which is
located near the airport.
The mayor ordered the evacuation of all major public buildings
downtown,
including City Hall, the Justice Center and the convention center. He
has asked
owners of large commercial high-rises downtown to evacuate. Federal
buildings
downtown also were closed.
Traffic in downtown Cleveland was backed up for blocks as people
tried to get
home.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Jacobs Field, Gund Arena and Browns
Stadium
also were closed, and the mayor said he asked two downtown college
campuses to
close.
White said there would be a parking ban on downtown streets.
LOAD-DATE: September 12, 2001
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