Harrowing time for Venus

LONDON, JULY 10. Wimbledon winner Venus Williams was visibly shaken after a British Airways airliner taking her and 131 other passengers on a scheduled flight to Milan was forced to turn back with smoke billowing from the cockpit.

BA sources told the Daily Mirror newspaper that Venus gripped her seat and had to be comforted by crew after the incident on Monday which happened as the plane was already 30,000 feet aloft.

The jet was about half an hour into its flight from Heathrow airport to Milan when smoke reportedly billowed from the cockpit.

Venus, who defeated Justine Henin to retain her title on Sunday, was sitting in club class as the captain said he was turning back as a precaution to have a ``technical problem'' checked out. Emergency crews were on standby at Heathrow in case there was a blaze aboard.

A BA worker in terminal one said: ``when she came off, she looked a bit scared.'' A BA spokesman said: ``flight crew became aware of an oily, odd smell in the cockpit. We apologised to passengers and our engineers are now checking the aircraft.''

- DPA

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Section  : Sport
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