A large metal baggage container was sucked into an engine of a Boeing 747 as it was leaving a terminal gate at Los Angeles International Airport, aviation authorities said.
The incident occurred yesterday afternoon as Japan Airlines Flight 61 to Narita was pushing back from the terminal gate. A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman, Ian Gregor, said a baggage cart was being towed by at the same time and the engine ingested one of the containers.
Airport officials told the Los Angeles Times the vacuum created by the air intake of the left outboard engine was so strong it pulled the empty container off the baggage cart. The object was lodged in the outer left-side engine of the four-engine jet.
The 245 passengers were taken back to the terminal.
