Runaway jet smashes through fence at Los Angeles airport
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Posted 1:59PM on Wednesday, April 10, 2002
LOS ANGELES - A runaway American Airlines 767 waiting for maintenance at Los Angeles International Airport smashed through a fence Wednesday, pulling down power lines and blocking a side street before coming to a stop.<br>
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"It wasn't being towed or moved. It was parked overnight outside a hanger for maintenance. Somehow it moved. They don't know how. No one was on it. It's under investigation," airport spokesman Harold Johnson said.<br>
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There were no injuries and airport operations were not affected, he said.<br>
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The extent of damage to the aircraft was not immediately known.<br>
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"An investigation is under way as to how the aircraft managed to move on its own," American Airlines said in a statement issued from its office in Fort Worth, Texas.<br>
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Investigators were trying to determine if the plane's parking brake was properly set, Johnson said. He said he did not know who parked the jet.<br>
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The accident was reported at 8:50 a.m. along World Way West, at the western end of the airport.<br>
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Officials at the scene said power would be shut down at several buildings and traffic lights in the area so the lines could be removed from the aircraft.<br>
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Heavy equipment was being brought in to tow the plane back inside the airport.<br>