Plane forced down by smoke-filled cockpit

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A flight from Puerto Rico to Philadelphia arrived seven hours late Thursday after making an emergency landing in Florida because of smoke in the cockpit.

American Airlines Flight 1738, which took off from San Juan at 5:40 p.m., landed at West Palm Beach just before 9 p.m. after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Passengers arrived in Philadelphia at 4:48 a.m., about two hours after taking off from the Florida airport on a different plane.

Mary Frances Fagan said that a section of glass in the cockpit shattered during the descent. She said that only the inner glass was affected so there were no problems with cabin pressure.

Fagan said that stories the captain had opened a window to let the smoke out were unfounded rumors.

"It's kind of impossible when you're at that altitude," she said.