STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. So much can depend on a snug piece of plastic. A passenger plane was flying from Germany to Mexico. A pilot got a cup of coffee without a lid. And somewhere over the North Atlantic, the coffee spilled on a control panel. Investigators say the panel smoked and started melting. The pilots put on oxygen masks and diverted the plane. At least the pilot was caffeinated for the emergency landing in Ireland. The airline now requires lids. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.