Yellowknife (Mar 22/04) - On Friday, March 19, at 3:16 p.m. United Airlines Flight 901, with 259 passengers aboard, was forced to make an unscheduled landing at the Yellowknife airport due to problems with one of its engines.

The Boeing 777 was on it's way from Frankfurt, Germany to San Francisco, California. There were no injuries.

"There was a big vibration," said Scott Boynton, a passenger on the aircraft. "It kind of rumbled."

The first officer told passengers the problem was a compression failure in the right engine.

Boynton, a private pilot and airplane enthusiast, said the plane had to reduce power in the engine and fly at a lower altitude. Under FAA regulations, it is mandatory for a twin engine plane to land when it loses power in one engine, according to Boynton.

"Everybody was pretty calm," he said. "We didn't lose any of the other systems."

Shutting down the engine was, "a precautionary measure," said Michel Lafrance, airport manager in Yellowknife. He says the landing was safe. Flight 901 contacted the Yellowknife airport an hour before landing, LaFrance said. Authorities in Yellowknife activated the emergency coordination centre (ECC), located at the RCMP "G" Division hanger at the airport.

Immigration and customs officials went through routine screening operations on the plane before passengers were taken to the ECC.

"They're international flights coming into Canada so they require customs and immigration services," said Glen Jensen, customs inspector for the Canada Border Service Agency.

"The big thing was to take care of the passengers," Lafrance added. Representatives from the Department of National Defense and the RCMP (wearing proper mountie outfits) were on scene. Mayor Van Tighem was also there to welcome the visitors.

Chairs, tables, cots, food, coffee and phones to call family members were provided for the United Airlines passengers. Lafrance gives credit to Tundra Transfer for the coffee, Northwestel for the phones and Quiznos and the Co-op for the food. The City of Yellowknife provided chairs and tables as well as buses.

"Everybody's been great," Boynton said. This is the farthest north he has ever been, and, despite the cold, his spirits were high.

"We catered to the passengers," Lafrance said. Some even got to take a bus tour of Yellowknife.

The delay was more difficult for some than others. An Iranian woman on the flight, Pouran Natehgi, speaks no english and did not understand what was happening.

Lafrance called local architect Kayhan Nadji and his family for help. Kayhan immigrated to Canada 25 years ago from Iran and speaks Persian, Afani's language.

"My family, my wife (Zhila) and daughter (Anisa) joined her there," Kayhan said. "In the beginning she didn't know where she had landed." Kayhan says Nateghi thought she was in San Francisco, where she was supposed to meet her children. She wondered why California was so cold.

The Nadjis and Nateghi are members of the Baha'i faith and believe everything happens for a reason. March 20, the first day of spring is also the first day of the Baha'i new year. Nateghi planned to spend the time with her family but after experiencing the hospitality and friendliness of the Nadjis she understood that she was meant to spend new years eve in Yellowknife.

The Nadjis feel anyone would have done the same to help out.

"It was our duty as human beings," Zhila said. The Nadjis were also impressed with the way the local authorities handled the situation.

A second United Airlines Boeing 777 landed in Yellowknife at approximately 10:30 p.m. Friday night. On board were customer service representatives, mechanics to inspect the damaged aircraft and a towbar big enough to move the plane.

United Airlines requested assistance from First Air with runway operations. "We helped out in a few ways (such as baggage and ramp handling)," said Tracy Beeman, spokesperson for First Air.

LaFrance said the biggest problem with departure was moving the baggage and cargo from one aircraft to the other as the Yellowknife airport doesn't usually handle planes this big and only had one loader to work with.

The replacement jet took off Saturday at 3:16 a.m. and arrived safely in San Francisco.

A repair crew stayed in Yellowknife with the grounded 777 to asses the damage.