Safe Landing at LAX for Flight 465 : Aircraft: America West jet flying out of John Wayne Airport is diverted to Los Angeles due to a warning light.

An America West jetliner with 43 people on board made a safe emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday after a warning light indicated a landing gear problem during takeoff from John Wayne Airport.

Flight 465, which left Orange County at 1:30 p.m. for an hourlong trip to San Francisco, was diverted to LAX when a cockpit warning light failed to indicate that the landing gear was fully retracted and locked in place.

The gray Boeing 737 with burgundy lettering circled over the Pacific Ocean for more than an hour while the crew tried to correct the problem. When it could not be fixed, the twin-engine jet was sent to Los Angeles, which has more and longer runways than John Wayne.

“We have to take it seriously, said Bob Covey, America West’s station manager in Orange County. “This is not unusual. It happens in the industry. “

The aircraft landed about 3:20 p.m. without incident and was quickly surrounded by crash crews that were on full alert at LAX. America West made arrangements for the plane’s passengers to take flights to San Francisco on other air carriers.

No injuries were reported, and the aircraft was taken out of service for repairs.

Authorities said that shortly after takeoff, the America West pilot notified the tower at John Wayne that the landing gear warning light was malfunctioning. The crew then lowered the wheels and flew the plane by the tower. Observers noted that the wheels were down, but there was no way to confirm that they were locked in position.

A crew member also could not determine whether the gear was locked after checking them himself through an access port in the fuselage.

As the aircraft flew a holding pattern over the ocean, Orange County firefighters went on alert along the runway at John Wayne. Four trucks, three crash crews and two medical units equipped to handle major disasters were present at the scene. Similar precautions were taken at LAX.

Capt. Dan Young, a spokesman for the Orange County Fire Department, said fire crews at John Wayne were relieved when the plane landed safely in Los Angeles.

“It was pretty nice to hear, while we were still winding our operation down,” Young said. “It will be a nice, boring night. That’s what we look for.”

America West officials said an examination of the plane after it landed showed that the problem was with the instrument panel warning light, not the landing gear.

Daphne Dicino, a spokeswoman for the airline, said the light was blinking when it should not have been. The pilot knew it was probably a false signal, she added, “but he wanted to take every precaution.”

Times staff writers George Frank and Jeff Perlman contributed to this report.