MIAMI — An American Airlines transatlantic flight bound for Italy was forced to make an emergency return to Miami International Airport (MIA) on Monday evening following a mechanical issue encountered shortly after departure.
American Airlines Flight AA206, a regularly scheduled service to Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP), took off from runway 08R heading eastbound at approximately 8:00 PM EST on Monday, November 9. The flight was operated using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bearing tail registration N884AA.
Shortly into the initial climb, the crew halted their ascent at 5,000 feet. According to a post from FlightRadar24, the aircraft experienced a malfunction related to one of its landing gear doors.
Given the issue and the long-haul transatlantic trajectory ahead, the flight crew declared an emergency by broadcasting transponder squawk code 7700 to notify air traffic control. Air traffic controllers vectored the aircraft around for an immediate turn back toward the airport.
The Boeing 787 touched down safely on runway 09 at Miami International Airport, completing the entire flight cycle in just 32 minutes without further incident.
American Airlines arranged a replacement aircraft, a secondary Boeing 787-8 registered as N819AN, to transport the passengers to their final destination. The spare Dreamliner departed Miami later that evening at nearly 11:00 PM EST.
Flight AA206 is expected to arrive in Milan around midday on Tuesday, November 10, running roughly 2 hours and 30 minutes behind schedule.
