Local News in Brief : United Jet Dumps Fuel, Returns to LAX

A United Airlines DC-10 bound for Chicago with 287 passengers had engine problems shortly after takeoff Friday and dumped 52,000 pounds of jet fuel over the Pacific before returning to Los Angeles International Airport, officials said.

When a tail engine malfunctioned, the pilot of Flight 108 shut off the troublesome engine and dumped the plane’s fuel into Santa Monica Bay and landed the aircraft, which was powered by its remaining two engines.

United spokesman Chuck Novak said that the DC-10 could fly on one engine if it had to but that safety procedures called for the plane to be brought back. The engine problem had nothing to do with structural defects or the airplane’s age, he said.