Pilot May Have Turned Too Sharply

Nobody was hurt early Sunday when a Boeing 747 flying for Air China became stuck in the asphalt of a taxiway at Los Angeles International Airport as it was taxiing for take-off, according to news reports from as far away as Beijing.

Air China Flight 984 was headed for take-off at LAX around 0140 local time Sunday morning when the "right main gear crossed into a non-access area of the intersection, and the gear sank 1.5 feet to 3 feet into asphalt," according to airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles. The right main gear sank into asphalt that's less than four inches thick -- certainly not meant to sustain the weight of a fully loaded and fueled jumbo jet.

"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," Castles said, quoted by China's official news agency. "Fuel is currently being emptied out of the aircraft," said Castles. Runway 25-Right remained closed throughout the day, although traffic into and out of the airport was described as "light," according to Los Angeles TV station KABC.

Airport officials expected the incident to be resolved by late Sunday night.

FMI: www.lawa.org