Introduction to the Incident
A man is speaking out after he heard an explosion when sparks were seen coming from an American Airlines plane’s engine before it landed at Miami International Airport on Friday.
Video footage showed flashes of light near one of the plane’s engines as it was in the sky near the airport.
Jake Fletcher said he was in the yard of his North Miami building and was sitting on the seawall as he let his dog out when he suddenly heard a loud explosion.
Eyewitness Account
"And I looked up and I saw a plane, and I saw a fire coming out of one of the turbines," he said. "So I started recording, grabbed my phone and, you know, the video doesn’t really do it justice."
Video appeared to show sparks coming from a plane’s engine before it landed at Miami International Airport on Friday.
American Airlines flight 1603 took off from MIA just after 10:30 a.m.
A little later, around 11:00, Fletcher heard the boom.
Response and Investigation
Shortly after that, around 11:50, viewer video shows Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responding on the tarmac to a “hazardous situation involving an aircraft.”
"It was pretty, you know, troubling to say the least, you know, and I was hoping for the best and glad that the plane, you know, made it back safely," Fletcher said.
NBC6 tracked the plane’s path from FlightAware.
The plane went in circles over the Everglades and never got more than 7,500 feet in the air before returning to MIA.
According to the flight tracker, it was in the air for almost 50 minutes.
Expert Analysis
NBC6 spoke to Jay Rollins, a former American Airlines pilot who is now a professor at Florida Memorial University.
"If it was strictly an engine problem, then it’s something contained within the engine, they probably would have just shut it down and continued to land as soon as possible," Rollins said. "So the holding and the turns and all of that delaying the approach is probably because there was something else going on inside the cabin or the cockpit."
Airline Response
In a statement, a spokesman for American Airlines told NBC6 that, "American Airlines flight 1603 with service from Miami (MIA) to Guatemala City (GUA) returned to MIA shortly after departure due to a possible maintenance issue. The aircraft landed safely and without incident at MIA."
The airline also said upon initial inspection, there was no indication of fire or smoke.
"I would respond to that statement by saying that it sounds like what I would expect them to say, you know, but I mean, I saw what I saw and you can see it on the video, so, you know, with this and then what happened in Denver yesterday, one would expect that, you know, they need to take a long, hard look at what’s going on with their airplanes," Fletcher said.
Recent Incidents
Friday’s incident comes just one day after another American Airlines flight was forced to land in Denver after that plane caught fire.
Some passengers had to evacuate onto the wing of the plane.
There were no serious injuries reported in that incident either.
Conclusion
The incident highlights the need for airlines to thoroughly inspect and maintain their aircraft to ensure passenger safety. The fact that two similar incidents occurred within a short period of time raises concerns about the airline’s maintenance procedures. It is essential for American Airlines to investigate these incidents and take necessary steps to prevent such occurrences in the future.
FAQs
Q: What happened to American Airlines flight 1603?
A: The plane returned to Miami International Airport shortly after departure due to a possible maintenance issue.
Q: Were there any injuries reported?
A: No, there were no serious injuries reported.
Q: What did the eyewitness see?
A: The eyewitness saw sparks coming from one of the plane’s engines and heard a loud explosion.
Q: How long was the plane in the air?
A: The plane was in the air for almost 50 minutes.
Q: What did American Airlines say about the incident?
A: The airline stated that the aircraft landed safely and without incident, and that there was no indication of fire or smoke upon initial inspection.
