Boeing Dreamlifter lands safely after scare

Published 7:51 pm Tuesday, March 12, 2013

A Boeing 747 Dreamlifter made an unscheduled landing at Paine Field on Tuesday afternoon after experiencing a problem with its hydraulic system.

The Dreamlifter is a modified 747 used to ferry sections of Boeing’s 787 to Everett. Operated by Atlas Air, this plane’s crew had filed a flight plan for a Japan destination, according to FlightAware.com.

But shortly after taking off the crew reported a problem. The 747 circled the Puget Sound area for more than an hour to dump fuel — to reduce weight — then made a low pass to confirm that the landing gear were down before circling around again and landing safely at 3:56 p.m.