AirTran flight to ATL makes emergency stop in Lexington

By Associated Press

For the AJC

LEXINGTON, Ky.  — An AirTran Airways plane traveling from Chicago to Atlanta made an emergency landing Wednesday afternoon in Lexington.

AirTran spokesman Brad Hawkins says no one on board Flight 25 was injured. The flight originated at Chicago's Midway International Airport and had 106 passengers in addition to the crew.

Hawkins said the captain noticed performance problems in one of the engines of the Boeing 717, shut the engine down and diverted to Lexington, which was nearby, as a precaution, which is standard procedure.

Blue Grass Airport spokeswoman Amy Caudill says the plane landed there around 4 p.m. EST Wednesday.

Another AirTran plane was sent from Atlanta and carried the diverted passengers there, Hawkins said.

According to the AirTran website, Flight 25 departed Chicago-Midway at 1:30 p.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport at 5:25 p.m. Its actual arrival time was 8:41 p.m.

-- Dispatch Editor David Ibata contributed to this article.