Plane crash-lands safely after aborted takeoff, two injured
     LONDON - March 31, 1998 02:07 a.m. EST -- A chartered jet carry-
 ing a British soccer team crash-landed early today after an
 aborted takeoff, police said. Two people suffered minor injuries.
     The accident occurred when the plane's nose wheel collapsed
 after touchdown at Stansted Airport, just outside London. The
 plane overshot the runway and came to a stop just 300 feet from
 the airport's perimeter fence.
     The British Aerospace 748 aircraft, operated by Belfast-based
 Emerald Air, had just taken off and was about 150 feet in the air
 when the pilot detected engine trouble and passengers saw flames
 coming from one of the engines.
     The four crew and 40 passengers, including the Leeds United
 soccer team, were evacuated from the aircraft. One passenger
 suffered a minor shoulder injury and another had superficial
 cuts, authorities said.
     The soccer players were on their way home from a game in
 London.
     John Stent, chief executive at Stansted Airport, said it was
 the first serious accident at the airfield since the airport
 opened as a major terminal seven years ago.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
    American, United airlines to tighten seat belt requirements
     FORT WORTH, Texas - March 31, 1998 00:43 a.m. EST -- Buckle up,
 and stay that way.
     American Airlines is becoming the first carrier to require
 passengers in their seats to keep their lap belts fastened from
 takeoff through landing. Currently, passengers may unbuckle during
 the flight if the pilot turns off the seat belt light.
     "People in their seats need to be belted in," American spokesman
 Tim Smith said Monday. "We've had that as a recommendation to pas-
 sengers for a long time. It is clearly the best way to deal with
 unexpected turbulence from a safety standpoint."
    United Airlines said late Monday it would follow American's lead.
 Delta, the other Top 3 airline in the nation, said it would not
 change its rules but would watch to see how the new policy works
 out at the other airlines.
     The new policies on American and United will have passengers
 doing what is already standard practice for the captain and
 co-pilot.
     The new policy is aimed at protecting passengers from clear-air
 turbulence -- areas of unstable air that can buffet a jet without
 warning.
     "We don't think it's a burden to keep the seat belt fastened if
 you're seated," said United spokesman Joe Hopkins.
     A United Airlines jet flying from Tokyo to Honolulu hit clear-
 air turbulence in December that killed one passenger and injured 83
 others.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
           186 passengers evacuated as jet's engine fails
     FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - March 30, 1998 11:13 p.m. EST - One hun-
 dred and eighty-six passengers and crew members were evacuated from
 a Royal Airlines charter flight Monday after one of the Boeing 727's
 engines failed just before takeoff, airport officials said.
     A handful of passengers suffered minor injuries as they slid
 down the plane's emergency chutes.
     The aircraft was on the runway preparing for takeoff from Fort
 Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport Monday night when the
 takeoff was aborted and the passengers were evacuated.
     "We were going down the runway. We heard a noise," one passenger
 told Miami Fox television affiliate WSVN after leaving the plane.
 Passengers said had they heard a loud noise.
      Further details were not immediately available.
 ===
--- DB 1.39/004487
---------------