Summary A recent American Airlines flight from New York to Charlotte was delayed significantly after a passenger was discovered onboard with a fake passport, Upon takeoff, the Airbus A321's landing gear had complications, prompting a diversion. Passengers were stuck on the ground for about three hours until a new crew was able to safely operate the aircraft to Charlotte. An American Airlines flight from New York to Charlotte was significantly delayed last week after a passenger was reportedly found with a fake passport.
Adding to the complications, the aircraft had issues with its landing gear, prompting a diversion. Once the aircraft was back on the ground, passengers waited over three hours until the flight could continue. However, other flight attendants and pilots were dispatched as the delay had likely exceeded the original crew’s rest requirements.
Returning to the gate According to The Aviation Herald , AA1023 originated at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and was headed to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) . The aircraft, an Airbus A321 registered as N521UW, was operating the flight on Thursday. According to Flightradar24 , it pushed back from gate 17 on time at 08:31.
However, right after pushback, the aircraft returned to the gate after the crew was notified that a passenger onboard allegedly had a fake passport. Interested in this route? Find flights between New York & Charlotte right here! The passenger was removed, and after about an hour of sitting at the gate, N521UW pushed back again. After taxiing for 30 minutes, the aircraft finally departed from Runway 13.
As it crossed over Flushing Bay heading southeast, it turned south over Flushing Meadows Corona Park before making a U-turn and heading west. The plane climbed to around 10,000 feet and was flying just north of Central Park. Flying in circles At this point, the crew reportedly halted the climb and notified air traffic control (ATC) that its gear was stuck in transit.
The captain also told the passengers that the aircraft was experiencing a “landing gear problem.” The plane entered a holding pattern to troubleshoot the issue, spending about 35 minutes flying in circles just north of Manhattan above the Hudson River. Then, a passenger reportedly noticed that the landing gear could retract properly, and shortly thereafter, the captain announced that they would be diverting.
According to The Aviation Herald, the pilots alerted ATC that they “had a lot of fuel to mess around with,” and decided to divert to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to take advantage of its longer runway compared to LGA. The aircraft exited its holding pattern and headed south over Long Island.
It flew east of JFK and then southeast, before lining up for final approach onto Runway 4L. N521UW landed safely at 12:01 and reportedly taxied to gate 43 at Terminal 8. It arrived at the gate around 12:15 and remained there for about three hours.
Continuing to Charlotte It is unclear whether passengers were permitted to deplane while they were on the ground or what caused the aircraft to have landing gear complications. A new crew had arrived to operate the plane, and it pushed back at around 15:10. It was airborne about a half hour later, departing from Runway 4L.
The flight continued without issue, reaching a cruising altitude of 34,000 feet. After one hour and 30 minutes, the aircraft landed at CLT on Runway 36R at 17:10 – about six hours and 40 minutes after its original scheduled arrival time. N521UW is a 15-year-old A321 and was delivered to US Airways in June 2009, according to ch-aviation .
As of May this year, the aircraft had recorded over 50,100 flight hours across more than 18,360 flight cycles..
