Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport

A Delta Air Lines jetliner developed a fire in a tailpipe on the ground in Atlanta, just before it was to have taken off on a flight to Dallas and Los Angeles. A Delta spokesman at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport said the blaze began as soon as the engine was started. Excess fuel, he said, had evidently collected in a tailpipe of the engine and was ignited when the tailpipe temperature rose. A total of 302 passengers were delayed for about four hours, the spokesman said.

Officials in Atlanta shut down all security checkpoints at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for about two hours after a "suspicious image" was seen on a screening machine. At least 120 flights were affected. A hand search of bags yielded nothing matching the image. Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Amy von Walter said a possible homemade bomb had been detected.

Atlanta City Councilman Hosea Williams, arrested in March for trying to carry a gun past airport security, was fined $1,000 in Jonesboro, Ga., after pleading no contest to two misdemeanor weapons charges. Williams already has paid a separate $1,000 civil fine to the Federal Aviation Administration over the incident, which occurred as he was going to board a plane at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. Security officers found a .38-caliber pistol in his briefcase.

A security screening supervisor at the Atlanta airport has been fired after failing to find a loaded gun while searching a passenger's carry-on bag, officials said Tuesday. The passenger was later arrested with the weapon at Philadelphia International Airport. The supervisor hand-searched the bag Sunday but missed the weapon and a clip of ammunition, said James Loy, head of the Transportation Security Administration. The employee, who was not identified, was fired Monday.

The FBI is investigating a gunshot that hit a passenger window of a Delta Air Lines jet taxiing for takeoff at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, police said. Nobody was hurt. The plane bound for Mobile, Ala., was forced to return to the gate after the outer shell of the triple-pane window on the Boeing 727 was broken, said FBI spokeswoman Celestine Armstead. Investigators have recovered the bullet, which was found lying between the window panes.

Old-timers who bemoan the passing of the nickel hot dog would do well to stay away from the Atlanta airport, where a frank fetches $4.20. Add in a large soft drink for $2.10 and you've got a bill to spoil any hungry traveler's appetite. People who travel by plane have always grumbled about high prices for snacks and sundries at airports. At Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, however, high prices are getting closer scrutiny because of allegations that they reflect corruption.

Federal agents delayed the takeoff of a flight to Turkey on Tuesday after receiving word that one of the passengers may have been a security threat. All of the passengers on the Delta Air Lines flight to Istanbul were asked to get off the plane as a security sweep was conducted. Six passengers were questioned, and one man was detained. "As far as the terrorism concern, all of that has been resolved," FBI agent Tom Bush said. "We have not been able to connect him to any terroristic group."

A security screening supervisor at the Atlanta airport has been fired after failing to find a loaded gun while searching a passenger's carry-on bag, officials said Tuesday. The passenger was later arrested with the weapon at Philadelphia International Airport. The supervisor hand-searched the bag Sunday but missed the weapon and a clip of ammunition, said James Loy, head of the Transportation Security Administration. The employee, who was not identified, was fired Monday.

The pilot of an Eastern Airlines jetliner that crashed into a smaller plane did not see it on the runway until the last minute because he had been watching another jetliner that landed in front of them, federal investigators said Friday. A Continental Airlines jetliner had been cleared to land on the same runway ahead of the twin-engine Beechcraft Air King, which was struck from behind by the Eastern Boeing 727-200, said Robert MacIntosh, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator.

A man ran past guards and through a passenger exit at the nation's busiest airport Friday, halting flights and causing a ripple effect that slowed air traffic throughout the United States. The man entered the secure area of Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport then fled down an up-escalator shortly before noon, airport officials said. The security breach all but shut down the airport for four hours, as flights into and out of Atlanta were delayed.

A man ran past guards and through a passenger exit at the nation's busiest airport Friday, halting flights and causing a ripple effect that slowed air traffic throughout the United States. The man entered the secure area of Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport then fled down an up-escalator shortly before noon, airport officials said. The security breach all but shut down the airport for four hours, as flights into and out of Atlanta were delayed.

Federal agents delayed the takeoff of a flight to Turkey on Tuesday after receiving word that one of the passengers may have been a security threat. All of the passengers on the Delta Air Lines flight to Istanbul were asked to get off the plane as a security sweep was conducted. Six passengers were questioned, and one man was detained. "As far as the terrorism concern, all of that has been resolved," FBI agent Tom Bush said. "We have not been able to connect him to any terroristic group."

The FBI is investigating a gunshot that hit a passenger window of a Delta Air Lines jet taxiing for takeoff at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, police said. Nobody was hurt. The plane bound for Mobile, Ala., was forced to return to the gate after the outer shell of the triple-pane window on the Boeing 727 was broken, said FBI spokeswoman Celestine Armstead. Investigators have recovered the bullet, which was found lying between the window panes.

Old-timers who bemoan the passing of the nickel hot dog would do well to stay away from the Atlanta airport, where a frank fetches $4.20. Add in a large soft drink for $2.10 and you've got a bill to spoil any hungry traveler's appetite. People who travel by plane have always grumbled about high prices for snacks and sundries at airports. At Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, however, high prices are getting closer scrutiny because of allegations that they reflect corruption.

The auction for parts of grounded Eastern Airlines got under way Monday as Delta Airlines and United Airlines prepared bids. United is expected to offer $60 million for three Eastern gates at Los Angeles International Airport and three more gates at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The proposed deal includes takeoff and landing slots at O'Hare. Meanwhile, Delta said it agreed to pay $42.

The controller directing traffic when an Eastern Airlines jetliner plowed into a private plane on a runway at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport has been fired for failing to follow proper procedures, officials said. The accident last Thursday claimed the life of the pilot of a Beechcraft King Air 100 and injured the co-pilot. Officials said the controller, who had just begun his shift and was distracted by two other aircraft, told them he thought the King Air had cleared the runway.

An Eastern Airlines jet and a twin-engine plane collided on the ground Thursday night, killing the pilot of the smaller plane and injuring his co-pilot, officials said. The accident, shortly after 7 p.m., occurred when a Beechcraft King Air 100 landed at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport and was overtaken on the runway by an Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 that had landed just behind it, officials said.

The pilot of an Eastern Airlines jetliner that crashed into a smaller plane did not see it on the runway until the last minute because he had been watching another jetliner that landed in front of them, federal investigators said Friday. A Continental Airlines jetliner had been cleared to land on the same runway ahead of the twin-engine Beechcraft Air King, which was struck from behind by the Eastern Boeing 727-200, said Robert MacIntosh, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator.

An Eastern Airlines jet and a twin-engine plane collided on the ground Thursday night, killing the pilot of the smaller plane and injuring his co-pilot, officials said. The accident, shortly after 7 p.m., occurred when a Beechcraft King Air 100 landed at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport and was overtaken on the runway by an Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 that had landed just behind it, officials said.