Bush Press Corps Has 4th Faulty Jet in 2 Weeks

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. — For the fourth time in less than two weeks, airplane mechanical problems have beset the increasingly travel-jittery press corps accompanying Vice President George Bush.

More than 40 reporters, photographers and technicians were stranded here Wednesday morning when a nearly new United Air Lines 737 charter jet malfunctioned. A starter for one of its turbine engines failed and cracked.

Bush continued on schedule aboard Air Force Two for appearances in Detroit. Reporters caught up later in a replacement airplane.

“This is a string of bad luck, no doubt about it. And it’s gone on longer than we’d like,” campaign press aide Mark Goodin said.

The incident followed a sequence of mechanical failures involving planes chartered from United and Key Air.

On Aug. 20, as a 727 Key Air charter landed at Columbus, Ohio, smoke and a powerful smell of burning material were detected in the cabin. Reporters deplaned in alarm.

Two days later, after takeoff from Chicago en route to Spokane, Wash., a Key Air plane suffered what was reported as stuck wing flaps. Fuel was dumped over Lake Michigan and the aircraft returned safely to Chicago.

On Aug. 25, a United 737 charter aborted takeoff in Houston when instruments reported an overheating engine. Airline spokesmen said it proved to be a faulty report.

The various political campaigns charter the aircraft used on press flights, and the media representatives then are billed for their share of the cost.