LOS ANGELES, May 11, 2009 (AFP) - A Japan Airlines jetliner preparing to depart Los Angeles was grounded on Monday after one of the plane's jet engines apparently sucked up a cargo container, officials said.

Television footage showed the large object wedged into an engine as the plane sat on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport.

JAL Flight 61 had been leaving the gate at around 1:30pm (0430 hours) when the unidentified object blocked one of the engines, according to Los Angeles World Airports, the agency which operates the airport.