An American Airlines flight from New York City to Madrid, Spain, Wednesday had to divert to Boston after a crack developed in the Boeing 777 jet’s windshield.
The plane left John F. Kennedy International Airport at 7:28 p.m., according to tracking website FlightAware.
Two hours and 15 minutes later, an Alert 2 was declared on the plane because of the crack, Massachusetts State Police told Boston NBC affiliate WBTS-TV.
An Alert 2 is “when a pilot indicates a more significant malfunction with his or her aircraft that may affect the operation or control of the aircraft,” according to the San Francisco International Airport website.
The plane then turned around and landed in Boston at 10 p.m., per the Federal Aviation Administration.
“The flight landed safely and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologize for the inconvenience this has caused,” American Airlines told the New York Post.
Passengers weren’t pleased with the surprise change of course.
“When it happened, it was kind of shocking. No one could believe it, and then when we return, we land and they say, ’OK, guys, you have to spend the night in Boston.’ And I think everyone [was] not freaked out, but we got mad,” passenger Nico Moreno told WBTS.
The diverted passengers are slated to fly out of Boston’s Logan International Airport for Madrid at 4 p.m. Thursday, according to FlightAware.
The FAA is investigating the incident.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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