CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An American Airlines plane briefly veered off a runway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Thursday afternoon, according to the airline.
No injuries have been reported among the six crew members and 172 passengers on board the plane. American flight No. 775 was flying to Miami.
The flight stopped takeoff safely shortly after 2:40 p.m. because of a potential mechanical issue, according to American.
The airport said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer that it “received an alert involving an American Airlines aircraft. The aircraft safely taxied to the gate under its own power.”
Passengers were transferred to another aircraft, according to American.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, was removed from service for evaluation.
The runway was temporarily closed for inspection but has since been reopened, airport officials said. The airport referred further comment to American Airlines, and declined to provide additional details about the incident.
Passenger numbers at the Charlotte airport have rebounded in recent months, especially after a dramatic drop in early 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic struck North Carolina and the rest of the country.
That growth is expected to continue into the summer months, airport chief operating officer Jack Christine told reporters this week.
“Recovery is strong here in Charlotte,” Christine said. “We recovered a lot faster than a lot of other airports did.”
In fact, the Charlotte airport was the fifth busiest airport worldwide for arrivals and departures last year, according to 2021 preliminary rankings from the Airports Council International. The airport is one of American Airlines’ hubs.
The Charlotte airport is kicking off another construction project amid that growth, a $231-million project to add 10 gates to Concourse A.
And travelers will get a first look at some of the additions to the terminal lobby this summer, part of a $608-million project.
