The Nation - News from Feb. 13, 1986

An American Airlines jet flew to three cities--two of the trips with passengers--before crew members discovered that a rough, aborted landing hours earlier had gouged a “fist-size” hole in the jet’s belly, officials said. The jet had tried to land in Harlingen, Tex., early Saturday in heavy fog, but it bounced 450 feet short of the runway and knocked out several airport lights before proceeding to San Antonio, where it let off the Harlingen-bound passengers, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Gerrie Cook said. The plane flew to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, loaded passengers and flew on to Denver, Cook said, where a “fist-size” hole was found in the belly of the Boeing 727 during a routine inspection.