On Thursday morning, a flight in the American Airlines network at Charlotte Douglas International Airport was evacuated because smoke was coming from the plane, reports The Charlotte Observer. The plane, destined for Columbia, SC, was about to take off when it returned to request assistance because smoke was detected on the plane. The Charlotte Fire Department responded to the emergency and cleared the area. American Airlines confirmed that the Piedmont Airlines-operated American Eagle flight 5720 reported a mechanical issue. Around 50 passengers and three crew members were evacuated from the plane. A flight attendant was taken to the hospital. A maintenance team inspected the aircraft after it was towed to the gate. A replacement flight took the passengers to their destination in Columbia. The airline said, “We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologize for the inconvenience this caused.” It is unclear whether this mechanical failure is a result of recent global IT issues at airports.
Read it at The Charlotte Observer
