3 Planes Make Emergency Landings in L.A.

Three planes made emergency landings at two Los Angeles-area airports within 10 minutes of one another Sunday evening, authorities said. All three aircraft landed safely without any injuries to passengers.

The first plane to report trouble was United Airlines Flight 1180, which “ingested” a bird into an engine shortly after leaving Los Angeles International Airport for Seattle at about 6 p.m., said Federal Aviation Administration duty officer Tom Aina. The plane circled back to LAX, landing safely at 6:57 p.m.

The aircraft took off again about an hour and a half later after being checked by mechanics, said United spokeswoman Donna Sitkiewicz.

Meanwhile, a second plane was making an emergency landing at Van Nuys Airport because of a problem with its landing gear, authorities said. A Wings West commuter plane landed at 6:54 p.m. with its nose gear retracted, causing minor damage to the plane, Aina said.

At 7:04, a SkyWest commuter plane with 30 passengers made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport after its pilot reported a hydraulic problem. “I would say he gave us about seven or eight minutes’ warning,” John Hicks, superintendent of airport operations, said of the SkyWest emergency.