An American Airlines regional flight hit turbulence over Alabama Tuesday night and lost a piece of its right wing known as the winglet.
No one was hurt on American Eagle flight 3729 from Charleston, S.C., to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which was diverted to Birmingham after the Embraer 175 jet hit “moderate to severe turbulence” over Alabama. A post-flight inspection revealed “a piece of the right winglet missing,” according to a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration incident report.
Fort Worth-based American Airlines said no one was hurt and the plane diverted safely to Birmingham International Airport “due to a potential mechanical issue midflight.”
“The flight landed without incident at BHM shortly after 6:45 p.m. (local time) and taxied to the gate under its own power,” said American Airlines spokesman Derek Walls in an email. “Upon arrival, the aircraft was taken out of service for evaluation by our maintenance team and all customers were transferred to another aircraft, which departed BHM for DFW last night.”
American Airlines wouldn’t confirm the condition of the aircraft on Wednesday, but the jet hasn’t left Birmingham since Tuesday evening, according to FlightRadar24.
“I was on the flight!,” Twitter user Brandon Owens said. “Surprisingly smooth flight and landing after the fact.”
Photos shared on social media Tuesday evening show a crew working on an American Eagle jet with what appears to be a significant section of the right wing broken off.
Winglets are the parts on the ends of the wings on some aircraft that curve upwards to improve fuel efficiency and maneuvering. Winglets are common on newer aircraft.
Map and altitude data from Flightradar24.com show the Embraer 175 jet cruising at 36,000 feet and about 450 miles per hour when it swiftly diverted from its flight path southwest of Birmingham.
The Embraer 170-200LR was built in 2016.
