Passengers Become Part Of Event... AND Get A Bus Ride To Detroit!

Close to 190 people onboard a Northwest Airlines jet became the reluctant participants in this weekend's Vectren Air Show in Dayton, OH when the Boeing 757 made a landing at show center following an inflight engine failure.

The Detroit News reports Northwest Flight 491 was en route from Tampa, FL to Detroit Sunday when one of the plane's two turbofans started experiencing issues.

"The airplane experienced a computer failure in one of the engines," Northwest spokeswoman Leslie Parker said. "As a precaution, the engine was shut down.

"But a Boeing 757 can safely land with one engine," she hastened to add.

Indeed, some 25,000 spectators had the opportunity to witness exactly that... as the stricken jet landed at Dayton International Airport just before 12:30 pm. Show activities were suspended when officials received word the jet was diverting, but the air show resumed about an hour later.

Northwest had to bus the flight's 182 passengers to their destination, while the airline sent mechanics to Dayton to troubleshoot the problem.

"Northwest apologizes to customers for the inconvenience," Parker said. We're sure the carrier wasn't thrilled with the embarrassment of having one of its planes make an emergency landing in front of thousands of potential customers, either...

FMI: www.nwa.com, www.daytonairshow.com