LOS ANGELES — An American Airlines flight bound for Chicago was forced to declare an emergency and turn back to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) shortly after midnight on Friday.
Flight AA1009, operated by a Boeing 737-800 registered as N842NN, had departed LAX from Runway 25R shortly after 12:00 AM local time, headed for Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).
After initial departure procedures, the aircraft made its standard eastward turn and reached an assigned cruising altitude of 31,000 feet. However, approximately 30 minutes into the flight, the flight crew declared an emergency and initiated an immediate U-turn.
Air Traffic Control is actively vectoring the Boeing 737 back toward LAX, where emergency response vehicles are standardly placed on standby to inspect the aircraft upon landing.
The nature of the emergency has not yet been confirmed by American Airlines or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Updates will be provided as more details become available.
UPDATE #1
Touch down on runway 25L, 45 mins after takeoff.
UPDATE #2
Vacated the runway escorted by ARFF.
UPDATE #3
The airline is confirming. A new departure is scheduled for 2:12AM.
