Flight Carrying Vt. US Sen. Leahy Diverted

Officials say a commercial flight carrying U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy and 79 other passengers to Vermont diverted to Philadelphia because of mechanical problems.

Leahy tells The Associated Press the pilot reported hydraulic problems before landing the plane smoothly in Philadelphia on Friday morning.

US Airways spokesman Todd Lehmacher says the 80 passengers and four crew members landed safely and were rerouted. The airline's website shows the new flight landed in Burlington at about 2:15 p.m.

The flight had left Washington's Reagan National Airport just after 10 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the mechanical problems.

Leahy is third in line to the presidency. He says he will be especially glad to see his Middlesex farmhouse on Friday.

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