Continental Jet Lands Safely After Catching Fire; No One Hurt

A Continental Airlines Boeing 737-300 carrying 69 people caught fire less than an hour after taking off from Oakland on Friday but made a safe emergency landing at San Francisco International Airport.

Officials said no passengers or crew members aboard the Denver-bound flight were injured in the incident in which flames scorched the exterior of the craft.

The plane was flying over the Sierra Nevada when it began to shake severely. One passenger said vibrations lasted several minutes and left those aboard in stunned silence.

Passengers were ordered to lean forward in their seats and cover the back of their heads with their hands during the landing, and safety crews at the airport were put on alert. However, the plane made a “normal” landing about 1 p.m. and was able to taxi to a gate on its own, officials said.

Officials discovered that a 2-by-4-foot section of the tail was charred. There also appeared to be damage to the stabilizer, the horizontal portion of the tail that helps control the plane’s altitude.

The crew members apparently were not aware of the possibility of a fire until after they had landed the plane. Ron Wilson, spokesman for San Francisco International Airport, said the source of the flames was unknown.

But a Continental spokesman said, “It appears an auxiliary power unit apparently malfunctioned and possibly resulted in an overheating condition.” The unit provides electrical power to the plane when it is on the ground and the engines are not running, Continental spokesman Dave Messing in Houston said.

R. E. (Griff) Greffenius, a business traveler from Walnut Creek, said the vibrations were severe and lasted several minutes. They were followed by several minutes of silence on the airliner, he said.

“Then the pilot came on and said, ‘Obviously, we’re having a vibration problem and we’re going back to Oakland,’ ” Greffenius said. The passengers were later notified they would be landing in San Francisco.

“There was no panic as far as people screaming. It’s just that people were quite concerned,” he said. “I’d say silence prevailed.”