Where's My Luggage Gone?

A Japan Airlines Boeing 747, with 245 passengers on board, sucked up a large metal baggage container as the plane prepared to depart from Los Angeles International Airport yesterday.

Japan Airlines Flight 61 to Narita had been preparing to leave the airport about 1.30pm (LA time) and was pushing back from the terminal gate when the incident occurred.
Carol Van Schellen, an Australian woman on board the flight, said she was waiting for the plane to taxi down the runway when she noticed police cars suddenly appear on the ground before the aircraft.

“I noticed there were police cars escorting us and I thought: ‘hmmm that’s strange',” she told Melbourne’s 3AW radio station.

“But they were actually trying to stop us I think and I looked out the window and there was a big luggage container sitting in the engine. I don’t know why the pilot hadn't noticed it but I think we were about ready to go and he announced that we had a "slight problem with engine no 1.”

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said a baggage cart – which may have been parked too close to the plane - was being towed at the same time and the engine ingested one of the containers, forcing it to become lodged in the outer left-side engine of the four-engine jet. The vacuum created by the engines preparing for take-off was so strong it sucked up the metal container, which measures approximately 5 feet by 5 feet by 4 feet.

The 245 passengers and 18 crew members were taken back to the terminal where alternative flight arrangements were made for them. (Taken from Mail Online)

"Slight problem" is a bit of an understatment!