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Nine persons taken to hospital

Seven crew members and two passengers aboard a US Airways flight bound for Jamaica were taken to a hospital in North Carolina yesterday after complaints about strong odours kept the jet grounded.

Two pilots, five flight attendants and two passengers sought medical attention as a precaution after detecting the odour, US Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder said.

Passengers began complaining of a foul electrical smell aboard Flight 985 soon after it began to taxi away from its gate at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport bound for Montego Bay, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

Carolinas Medical Centre representative Raymond Jones said the individuals were all expected to be discharged from Carolinas Medical Centre within hours of arriving at the hospital with coughing, throat pain, or lung irritation.

Wunder did not know how many passengers were aboard. The airline said all but two boarded a later flight to Jamaica.

A fire department hazardous materials unit found no air contaminants in the jet's cabin, the airline said.

Spokesmen for the airport and the fire department declined to comment.