‘Friendship Flight’ Escort Plane Makes Forced Landing

WASHINGTON — A twin-engine airplane that was ferrying luggage and members of an entourage for boy aviator Tony Aliengena was forced to make an emergency landing after clouds of smoke spewed from the instrument panel.

The plane--following 11-year-old Aliengena in his bid to become the youngest pilot to fly around the world--landed safely back at National Airport shortly after takeoff. There were no injuries, although a few passengers were treated for dizziness and minor smoke inhalation.

Aliengena, who experienced mechanical trouble in his own plane Saturday, was unaware of the difficulties with the “chase” plane until he landed at Lawrence Airport outside Boston on the sixth leg of his seven-week “Friendship Flight.”

Smoke began spewing from the chase plane, one of two following Aliengena, when it was about 1,000 feet above the Potomac River. Pilot Lance Allyn maneuvered his King Air through restricted airspace above the capital’s monuments and government buildings.

The exact problem had not been diagnosed late Saturday, although mechanics suspected a failed clutch gear.

Repairs on both the chase plane and on Aliengena’s plane in Lawrence are expected to be completed by Monday, enabling the boy and his entourage to continue on their way to Canada after a delay of no more than a day in the flight schedule.