DC-10 Returns to LAX; Engine Blamed

A UTA French Airlines DC-10 bound for Tahiti was forced to return to Los Angeles International Airport early Saturday because of a malfunctioning engine, but landed safely, authorities said.

Flight 503 landed at 5:07 a.m., more than an hour after the Federal Aviation Administration was notified that the plane was flying with one engine shut down and was returning to the airport, an FAA spokesman said.

The 189 passengers were put up in hotels for the night while the airplane was repaired and another flight scheduled for Sunday, an airport operations spokesman said.