LOCAL : Fire Sends DC-10 Back to L.A.

Flames shooting from an engine caused a Northwest Airlines DC-10 to return to Los Angeles International Airport early today, delaying 99 Minneapolis-bound passengers for five hours. They and the nine-member crew were uninjured.

The passengers on Flight 84 were put on a later flight, said Northwest spokesman Bob Gibbons. He said the left engine on the three-engine jetliner was inspected and found to be undamaged in the early morning flare-up.

The flames were caused by a compressor stall, Gibbons said.

Air traffic controllers noticed flames coming from the engine shortly after it took off at 1:45 a.m. “The pilot was advised of what the controller saw, and he shut down the engine, dumped the fuel in the ocean and made a normal landing at 2:19 a.m.,” said Rich Tornquist, Federal Aviation Administration regional duty officer.