Plane returns to Fort Myers airport with steering problems

Steering problems forced a commercial jet that took off in Fort Myers to return to Southwest Florida International Airport on Wednesday before crews could OK its trip to Cincinnati.

Comair Flight 5867 returned to Fort Myers on Wednesday afternoon about 90 minutes after it left the airport enroute to Cincinnati. Crews aboard the CRJ 700 airliner reported the cockpit lights indicated the rudder was having problems moving properly, said Kate Marx, spokeswoman for Comair, a division of Delta Air Lines.

A rudder controls the rear steering on an airplane.

The flight had been in the air about 40 minutes when the crew decided to return to Southwest Florida International to have maintenance crews take a look at the problem.

The flight returned to Fort Myers rather than a closer airport because maintenance crews were readily available, Marx said.

Emergency crews awaited the plane’s arrival on the runway as part of their “Alert 2” mode, said Barbara Anne Urrutia, public relations coordinator for the airport. The plane, its 63 passengers and four crew members landed safely just before 12:20 p.m. The alert mode was called off at 12:22.

Crews were able to taxi the plane to its gate without problems, Marx said. It was not immediately known what caused the rudder alert to sound in the aircraft, Marx said.

All problems with the aircraft were repaired and the plane left Fort Myers at 1:50 p.m., exactly three hours after its initial departure. The plane landed safely in Cincinnati at 4:30 p.m.

Marx said emergency landings are not uncommon with any airline, adding that Comair was happy to return to repair the problem safely.