A plane sparked and started billowing smoke Wednesday morning in Las Vegas.
According to officials with Harry Reid International Airport, American Airlines Flight 1665 had smoke coming from what appears to be the right engine. It was departing Las Vegas for North Carolina, but turned around to land back at Harry Reid.
WATCH | Alyssa Bethencourt speaks with officials about the emergency landing
According to the FAA, the plane returned safely to Harry Reid around 8:20 a.m. and the agency will investigate.
American Airlines released the following statement:
"The aircraft taxied to the gate under its own power and customers deplaned normally. We appreciate the professionalism of our crew and thank our team who are working to get our customers to their destinations as quickly as possible.”
The flight was en route to Charlotte, N.C., from Las Vegas when it began to experience engine troubles. In a statement, the airport said the fire department inspected the engine upon landing, and no injuries were reported.
"It was American Airlines flight 1665, departing from LAS to Charlotte, NC. There was smoke coming from the left engine and the aircraft returned. There were 165 passengers They landed safely, the fire department inspected the engine, and the aircraft taxied to the gate under its own power. No injuries reported."
The Scripps News Group also obtained a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is now investigating the incident.
"American Airlines Flight 1665 returned safely to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas around 8:20 a.m. local time on Wednesday, June 25, after the crew reported an engine issue. The Airbus A321 was headed to Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The FAA will investigate."
We interviewed a pilot and aviation expert, Jeffrey Lustick, who shared that engine issues like this are uncommon, but they aren't rare.
"There really wasn’t much danger going on, but the pilot will always have a precautionary step of landing at the nearest airport," said Lustick. "There have been some notable crashes in the past few weeks, but if you look at the sheer number of flights that happen, the number of flying hours versus mishaps, it is a tremendously safe system, and it safe for now that it’s ever been in the history of air travel.”
This article was written by Alyssa Bethencourt and Yolanda Cruz by the Scripps News Group in Las Vegas.
