WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Federal Aviation Administration officials said they're investigating what caused a United Airlines plane from Chicago to make an emergency landing in Canada.
The agency's Certificate Management Office will investigate whether United Airlines has a policy barring crew members from passing liquids over, or placing them on, the console, and if the policy was communicated to pilots, CNN reported.
The events began Monday when a pilot on a flight from Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany, spilled coffee on a cockpit panel, leading to a false hijack warning and ending in the plane's emergency landing in Toronto, officials said. How the hijack warning was tripped is unclear.
The FAA also will investigate whether the spilled liquid did, in fact, cause a communications problem for United Airlines Flight 940, a Boeing 777-200, or if other factors may have played a role, agency spokesman Les Dorr said.
Agency officials said Wednesday pilots are allowed to have beverages in the cockpit, but are prohibiting by rule from "any activity ... such as eating meals" that could distract them during a "critical phase of flight," CNN reported.
A United Airlines spokesman said a crew member's beverage spilled "during a period of light turbulence," but added the pilot was in contact with air traffic control and followed standard operating procedures.
Officials said the pilot decided to make an emergency landing in Toronto instead of continue the flight to Germany. UPI
