American Airlines plane makes an emergency landing due to fire in the kitchen
After taking off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), an American Airlines flight operating by a Boeing 737-800 was forced to change its route. The reason was a fire in the oven in the forward part of the onboard kitchen.
Instead of the intended Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in North Carolina, the plane landed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston. According to NBC News, no one was injured in the incident.
The crew managed to localize the fire and the plane landed safely in Houston less than an hour after departure from Austin. Firefighters and engineers met the Boeing 737-800 on the ground.
American Airlines spokespersons apologized to customers for the inconvenience and thanked the crew for their professionalism.
"The aircraft landed safely without incident and made it to the gate on its own. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and thank our team members for their professionalism," the statement said.
Another Boeing 737-800 was used to continue flight AA885. This plane landed in Charlotte more than seven hours later than scheduled.