CHICAGO — An American Airlines flight bound for Boston was forced to make an emergency turnaround shortly after taking off from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) on Tuesday afternoon.
American Airlines Flight AA2952, operated by an Airbus A319, departed Chicago at 12:02 PM local time. Almost immediately after lifting off from Runway 27L, the crew encountered an engine issue requiring a swift return to the airport.
Flight tracking data showed the aircraft (registration N9006) climbing briefly before entering a series of holding patterns directly over Lake Michigan.
While circling over the water, the pilots broadcasted a squawk code of 7700—the international aviation transponder signal indicating a general in-flight emergency.
After coordinating with Chicago air traffic controllers and completing the necessary emergency checklists, the flight path was cleared for an immediate approach back into O’Hare. Air traffic control redirected the aircraft to line up with Runway 28R for its landing.
Emergency response vehicles and airport fire crews are staging at O’Hare as a standard precautionary measure ahead of the aircraft’s arrival. Information regarding the exact nature of the emergency or the total number of passengers and crew on board has not yet been released by American Airlines or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
This is a breaking news event. Updates will be provided as more details regarding the status of the aircraft and its passengers become available.
UPDATE #1
Touch down on runway 28R.
UPDATE #2
The aircraft is being inspected still on the runway.
