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A Washington-bound flight was diverted after a problem with the small 76-seat plane windscreen,
American Airlines Flight AA4435, operated by third-party carrier Republic Airways under the American Eagle subsidiary brand, made an unexpected landing mid-flight.
By the time the Embraer plane took off from Chicago at 9.30 pm on Monday, November 10, it was already two hours late, as the flight usually took less than an hour and a half.
Halfway through the flight, Flightradar data shows the plane took off from Columbus, Ohio, but then proceeded to make a U-turn toward the city.
a spokesperson for American Airlines Said the plane “experienced a mechanical problem with the windscreen and was diverted to Columbus.”
Instead of landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) as intended, the flight “landed safely” in Columbus.
“The aircraft was taken out of service for inspection by our maintenance team,” the spokesperson said. “Customer flown to DCA on replacement aircraft.”
“Safety is at the center of everything at American. We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” he said.
Some reports suggested that the windshield broke in the air, causing the unexpected landing, but American Airlines did not confirm this.
The plane remained on the Columbus apron for a day before taking off again for a flight from New York to Charleston, South Carolina.
Aircraft windshields are designed to continue to function safely even if one layer is damaged.
US Federal Aviation Administration The (FAA) says cracks can occur in all plane models and typically, when they occur, it occurs on the outer glass pane, which acts as a protective cover for the multiple layers beneath.
Windshields are approximately two to three inches thick with multiple layers. The FAA says cracks happen more often than passengers realize.
This incident came to light after a week Windshield of United Airlines plane cracked Midway through the flight, an unexpected landing occurred in Salt Lake City.
United flight 1039 from Denver to Los Angeles underwent a diversion on Thursday, October 16 to address damage to its multilayer windshield.
Read more: Windshield of United Airlines plane cracked during flight