WORLD : Jet Carrying Kohl Aborts Takeoff
Chancellor Helmut Kohl escaped a “possible catastrophe” today when a U.S. military jet he was on aborted takeoff in West Berlin after a bird flew into an engine, a source close to Kohl said.
The incident occurred as Kohl was leaving West Berlin’s Templehof Airport for Bonn aboard a small two-engine U.S. Air Force jet, the source said. As the plane was rolling down the runway for takeoff, there was a “tremendous blast” from an engine, said the source, and the American pilot quickly aborted takeoff.
The source said Kohl was shaken by the incident, but the chancellor appeared calm and jovial at a news conference shortly after his return to Bonn.
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