American Airlines flight to KC forced to return to Charlotte due to maintenance issue
An American Airlines flight headed to Kansas City Friday morning had to return to Charlotte Douglas International Airport because of “a possible maintenance issue,” the airline said.
AA flight 1616 left Charlotte at 9 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Kansas City International Airport at 10:21 a.m. But it instead was forced to return to Charlotte, where it “landed safely and taxied to the gate under its own power,” the airline said.
A passenger on the plane, Queen City News journalist Savannah Rudicel, tweeted that “About 25 minutes after takeoff, I heard a loud pop, smelled smoke and felt rumbling turbulence. The pilot announced there was a malfunction in the tail. Fire crews met the plane on the runway.”
A replacement aircraft will be used to continue the trip to MCI Kansas City, the airline stated. “We never want to disrupt our customers travel plans and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
On Aug. 19, American Airlines apologized to passengers after possible mechanical issues forced the emergency landing at CLT of a flight headed to Burlington Airport in Vermont. That incident involved a subsidiary, American Eagle Flight 5616.
American Airlines is the dominant carrier at the Charlotte airport, which serves as one of its hubs.
Charlotte’s airport also is the seventh busiest in the world for arrivals and departures, according to Airport Council International group’s preliminary rankings for 2022. Last year, it saw 505,589 arrivals and departures.
This is a developing story
This story was originally published September 1, 2023 at 12:41 PM.
