The Region : Jet’s Engines Turned Off During Takeoff

The crew of a Delta Airlines Boeing 767 jetliner accidentally turned off both of the airplane’s engines while it was taking off from Los Angeles International Airport, a Delta spokesman said. Dave James, marketing director for Delta in Cincinnati, said Flight 810 was climbing westbound over the Pacific on a flight to Cincinnati when the mishap occurred. He declined to comment on reports that the airliner lost altitude after the engines were stopped, but a woman passenger told a WCPO television interviewer that “the captain said, ‘Get ready to crash.”’ And other sources said the airliner descended from 2,000 to 600 feet before leveling off and beginning to climb again. James said the crew restarted the dead engines and continued on to Greater Cincinnati International Airport, where they arrived about 20 minutes behind schedule. He said there were no injuries among the 194 passengers and eight crew members, all of whom were still strapped down for takeoff when the incident occurred.