‘Pretty crazy': AA flight aborts landing in Charlotte due to plane on runway
An American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Charlotte had to abort landing because a small plane was still on their runway Friday afternoon.
The flight landed safely about 20 minutes later, but passengers on board told Channel 9′s Joe Bruno it was 'weird' and 'freaky.'
American Airlines Flight 938 ended up circling in the air after a go-around at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. These incidents are rare, but not abnormal.
'American 938, go around, aircraft still on the runway,' said Air Traffic Control to pilots on board around 1:19 p.m. Friday.
Then, the pilot relayed the message to the confused cabin.
'It was pretty crazy, I think more so seeing the reactions of everyone else,' said Maia Hammond, a passenger on the flight.
ALSO READ >> Southwest flight, private plane nearly collide at Chicago Midway Airport
Channel 9 tracked the flight as one passenger reached out to American Airlines while still in the air. The flight path from FlightAware.com shows the plane nearly land at CLT before returning to altitude.
'About 20 minutes of going around in circles, but I will take that over hitting another plane on the runway,' said Dave Paradice, a passenger on the plane.
Paradice credited the pilot, saying he did a great job with the maneuver and stayed calm when he told everyone what happened.
'I am looking out the window thinking we are about to touch down in Charlotte, and nope, pilot goes up and makes a big announcement very calm, and he's like, 'Yeah, the runway was supposed to be vacated, of course, but we have to make a change of plan,'' Paradice told Bruno. 'Sounds like a crisis was averted.'
SEE MORE >> NTSB: Charlotte flight to Sarasota had to avoid plane on same runway during landing
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to Channel 9 that the AA flight had to avoid a plane on the runway. According to the most recent data from the FAA, about .4% of arriving flights at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in 2023 resulted in a go-around.
Channel 9 reached out to American Airlines for a statement, but we are still waiting on an official response.
We've asked for more details about the plane that was still on the runway and why it was still there.
(VIDEO: 'Something goes wrong': American Airlines flight diverted to Eglin Air Force Base due to flap issue)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
More people are experiencing homelessness this year, PIT Count shows
The Point-in-Time Count for Mecklenburg County shows more people are experiencing homelessness this year than they were last year, but efforts to solve the problem are also ramping up. The results of the count show there are over 2,400 people experiencing homelessness in Mecklenburg County. Of those, 444 are unsheltered. That is a 16% increase from last year and the highest unsheltered count since 2010. Channel 9's Eli Brand spoke to Jessica Lefkowitz, the executive director for Hearts for the Invisible Charlotte Coalition, about what these numbers mean for the community. The organization helped lead the count for the last two years. She says the actual unhoused count is likely higher than the numbers show because it was taken during the winter. 'It's something I think we should all think about with this year's point in time count is that it was like 17 or 18 degrees,' Lefkowitz said. 'So, we definitely didn't capture the real, true number because there might have been people in a hotel for the night instead of outside in that extreme weather.' Earlier this month, Mecklenburg County Council passed their budget for 2026. ALSO READ >> Mecklenburg County to vote on new budget It included around $27 million for nonprofits and mental health services. Even with the added funds, Lefkowitz said many nonprofits are still concerned since money they depend on from the American Rescue Plan Act is set to expire. 'We have businesses that are obviously impacted by the unhoused,' she said. 'If they could put some investment into this work, I think we could also help them.' Over the last two years, Heart for the Invisible said they have been able to get 214 people into permanent housing. VIDEO: 'Nowhere to go': Owner asks for community's help after her restaurant catches fire, closes
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
Six people dead after small plane crash off San Diego coast
Six people dead after small plane crash off San Diego coast A small plane carrying six people crashed off the San Diego coast over the weekend, killing everyone onboard. The twin-engine Cessna 414 crashed around 12:30 p.m. local time on Sunday a few miles west of Point Loma, one of the oldest seaside communities in San Diego. The Joint Operations Center, a joint command center for state and federal maritime operations, received the initial report about 15 minutes after the crash. Searchers from local and federal agencies located a debris field, a region where the remnants of the aircraft laid, as they looked for survivors by air and by sea. The water in the search area is about 200 feet deep, according to a press release from the U.S. Coast Guard. The presumed fatalities, according to a preliminary report by the FAA, includes five passengers and the pilot. The small plane crashed into the water under "unknown circumstances." The National Transportation Safety Board, the agency leading the investigation, did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment on Monday evening. Additional details about the crash, including the identities of those onboard, was not immediately available. Small plane en route to Phoenix before crash According to flight tracking website the aircraft was returning to Phoenix a day after flying out from Arizona. The small plane, which departed from San Diego International Airport around 12:24 p.m. local time, crashed a few minutes after takeoff. The aircraft is registered to Optimal Health Systems, a holistic health company based in Pima, Arizona, which told USA TODAY on Monday evening that while the small plane was registered to the company, it had been sold to a "group of private individuals" in June 2023. "Though registration still shows the aircraft belonging to Optimal Health Systems, LCC, the agreement included escrow arrangements and full operation power," the company said in a statement. Doug Grant, founder of Optimal Health Systems, said they were "deeply saddened" to learn of the accident. "We personally knew several of the passengers onboard and our sincerest condolences are offered to those affected by the tragedy, all of whom are incredible members of our small community," Grant said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved ones."
%3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%2FTAL-lead-image-EMERGENCYEXIT0625-7c5e169571e04144a14046ef2de88d94.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Travel + Leisure
a day ago
- Travel + Leisure
What Would Actually Happen If You Tried to Open the Airplane Emergency Door Mid-flight?
The most important thing in the exit row on a plane isn't the extra legroom—it's the emergency door. These doors are strategically located throughout the aircraft so that passengers can easily evacuate, regardless of whether they're in first class or the last row. The Airbus A380—the world's largest commercial aircraft—has 16 emergency doors. That's approximately one for every 50 passengers. While part of the flight attendant safety speech includes pointing out where the nearest emergency doors can be found, it doesn't include the answer to one burning question. What happens if you try to open the emergency door mid-flight? If you ask American Airlines First Officer Steve Scheibner, nothing would happen if you tried to open the door—because you can't open the emergency door mid-flight. Unless you're capable of lifting 25,000 pounds, it's physically impossible. 'Once this door gets pressurized in flight, it's nine pounds per square inch,' says Scheibner, who goes by Captain Steeeve on TikTok where he has more than 380,000 followers. Another pilot-turned-social media sensation explains it further on YouTube: 'We pressurize our aircraft to a lower altitude so that you guys can breathe,' says Pilot PascalKlr. 'The inside pressure pushes the door in its frame.' Scientists liken it to how a drain plug works. Given the small size of sink and bath drains, it takes a substantial amount of effort to pick them up. Also, most emergency exit doors on planes open inwards. Still, physics isn't the only thing keeping emergency doors closed during flights. On most commercial aircraft, all cabin doors automatically lock once the plane has reached a certain speed. According to Scheibner, it's approximately 80 knots (92 miles per hour). They can't be manually unlocked until the plane slows down again. Obviously, these locks weren't customary back in 1971 when the infamous 'D.B. Cooper' parachuted out of a Boeing 727's rear door with $200,000 in cash somewhere over southeastern Washington. In fact, because hijacking passenger planes was common in the late '60s and early '70s, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amended their safety regulations in 1972 and started requiring large passenger aircraft exits to be designed so that they can't be opened during flight. Exit sign in an airplane. Margot Cavin/Travel + Leisure Even though it's not possible to open an emergency door mid-flight, people have tried. In fact, every year passengers make headlines for trying to do so. A few weeks ago, an All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Houston was diverted to Seattle after an unruly passenger kept trying to open the emergency doors. Cabin crew and fellow passengers managed to restrain him using zip ties. Upon landing in Seattle, the passenger was handed over to the local police and FBI. And when an American Airlines passenger on a flight from Albuquerque to Chicago tried to open an emergency door 20 minutes into their flight last year, the plane returned to Albuquerque where law enforcement was waiting. If the plane isn't far from its final destination, it will usually try to land there. That's what happened on another American Airlines flight in 2024 when a passenger flying from Milwaukee to Dallas attempted to open an emergency door mid-flight. A flight attendant was injured in the process, and the man was charged with a federal crime. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. At the very least, trying to open an emergency door mid-flight is a great way to get yourself on the dreaded no-fly list. While most passengers who try to open emergency doors fail, at least one appears to have succeeded. In 2023, a passenger on an Asiana flight about to land in Daegu, South Korea allegedly opened the emergency door he was sitting next to. The plane was more than 700 feet off the ground at the time. While the plane was able to safely land, and no one was seriously injured, 12 people went to the hospital and were treated for hyperventilation. 'The wind was stinging my legs and hitting my face so hard I couldn't even breathe properly,' the passenger sitting next to him recalled in an interview with CNN. Asiana immediately launched an investigation to see how the door was able to be opened. It also issued a statement saying it would stop selling certain exit row seats on its Airbus A321-200 aircraft. But this doesn't exactly mean that sitting next to an emergency door is dangerous. On the contrary, some experts say the exit row boasts the safest seats on the plane. 'If there was a seat that was safer, being close to an emergency exit increases the chance of getting out quicker,' Cary Grant, an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's College of Aviation, previously told T+L.
