An American Airlines flight that left Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on Wednesday evening was forced to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles after a possible mechanical problem was reported by the pilot.
Flight AA 345 landed at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at around 8:45 p.m. with no reports of injuries aboard, to either passengers or crew.
The aircraft, a Boeing 777, was able to taxi on the runway after landing and let passengers disembark, an American Airlines spokesperson told KTLA 5.
The precise cause of the emergency, the result of what the pilot referred to as a "possible mechanical issue," is still unclear. Newsweek contacted American Airlines and Boeing for comment by email early on Thursday.
According to flight tracker website FlightAware, the flight, which left DFW at 19:35 CDT, landed at LAX some ten minutes ahead of its scheduled arrival.
The emergency landing in Los Angeles is only the latest in a recent string of incidents involving Boeing aircraft.
A 787-9 Dreamliner traveling from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand, on Monday suffered a technical problem that left about 50 people—including passengers and crew members—injured, with 12 being taken to the hospital.
The LATAM Airlines aircraft reportedly experienced a "strong movement" that a passenger described to the New Zealand Herald as a "quick little drop" in mid-air. The plane was carrying 263 passengers and nine crew members.
A spokesperson for Boeing told Newsweek that they were working "to gather more information about the flight" and what caused the incident. On Wednesday, aviation industry publication Air Current wrote that the movement of a flight deck seat was the focus of the probe, which is being led by Chile's aviation regulator.
New Zealand authorities are also investigating the incident.
Less than a week ago, a United Airlines Boeing 777 traveling from San Francisco to Osaka, Japan, was forced to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles after losing a tire during takeoff. The plane landed without incident.
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Serious concerns over the safety of Boeing planes were raised after a major incident in January involving a Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft in which a cabin door blew out of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in mid-air. No one was seriously hurt.
Following the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration launched a six-week audit of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems and halted production expansion of the Boeing 737 MAX.
A Boeing spokesperson told CBS in January that Dave Calhoun, president and CEO of the company, was acknowledging the "mistake" made by Boeing that led to the Alaska Airlines incident.
"We're going to approach this number one acknowledging our mistake," Calhoun reportedly said to employees. "We're going to approach it with 100 percent and complete transparency every step of the way."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
