P.M. BRIEFING : Error Grounds Airline Flights
Northwest Airlines says it was an honest mistake, not sabotage, that led ground workers in Atlanta to fill the hydraulic systems of two DC-9 jets with a mixture of hand soap and hydraulic fluid.
“It was certainly inadvertent and nothing suspicious,” Northwest spokesman Bob Gibbons said.
Fifty flights were canceled around the country Wednesday, and 12 DC-9s were grounded for inspections of their hydraulic systems.
Northwest spokesman Doug Miller said today that all 12 planes were returned to service and that no more cancellations were expected.
Miller said tests showed that two of the 12 grounded planes contained the mixture of hydraulic solution and hand soap.
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