The State - News from May 30, 1989

A jumbo jet flying from Los Angeles to Honolulu was diverted to Hilo airport--the closest airport--after it developed a fuel leak over the Pacific, officials said. The pilot of Trans World Airlines Flight 235, an L-1011 with 105 aboard, shut down the left engine about 450 miles east of Honolulu at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday when he detected the leak from the left wing, according to TWA. Two Hawaiian Air National Guard fighter planes and a Coast Guard rescue aircraft scrambled to escort the crippled airliner. The three-engine jetliner landed at Hilo, on the main island of Hawaii, without incident about an hour and 10 minutes after the pilot shut down the engine. The passengers flew on to Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, in another plane.