Fujifilm blimp deflates at Birmingham airport
     BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- April 28, 1998 11:33 p.m. EDT -- The
 200-foot-long Fujifilm blimp looked more like an empty pillowcase
 than an airship Tuesday after crash landing during a promotional
 stop.
     The blimp went down at the Birmingham International Airport
 about 200 yards from a popular restaurant, VJ's on the Runway,
 during the lunch rush. The blimp was in town for the Bruno's
 Memorial Classic, a Senior PGA tournament.
     None of the four people on board or the 18 members of the
 ground crew was injured. Air traffic was not affected.
     The blimp, carrying two passengers and two crew members, was
 within 10 feet of the ground when a strong gust came up, Fujifilm
 spokeswoman Carol Smith said from headquarters in Elmsford,
 New York.
     Smith said the ship was blown into a fence, and the pilot
 pulled a ripcord to quickly deflate the bag, which holds more
 than 233,000 cubic feet of helium.
     VJ's owner Caroline Sazera said the mishap didn't disturb
 diners, who are used to seeing aircraft through the front window.
 "Everybody ran to the window, watching and chewing," she said.
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             Engine fails on Miami-to-Chicago flight
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     MIAMI - April 28, 1998 08:37 a.m. EDT - A United Airlines flight
 to Chicago returned to Miami International Airport just after take-
 off when parts fell from a failed engine on the Boeing 727.
     The pilot turned the airplane around and landed without incident
 Monday afternoon, and there were no injuries. United and the Federal
 Aviation Administration were investigating.
     Debris from the right rear engine of the plane fell onto grass
 by one of the airport runways as Flight 355 took off with 158 people
 on board. The hot engine parts ignited a grass fire that airport fire
 crews extinguished in less than an hour.
     "I was sweating," passenger Carrie Wilson said. "I heard a bang
 coming from the runway, and I didn't hear the wings make that noise,
 you know how it sounds when the plane takes off."
     Passengers were put up at Miami hotels and were to be flown to
 Chicago Tuesday.
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