On October 23, two of American Airlines narrowbody planes operating domestic services faced technical issues, resulting in flight disruptions. Coincidentally, both aircraft were Airbus A319s, more than 100 of which currently fly for the carrier, primarily for its domestic operations.

Engine fire indication forces return

One of the incidents occurred on American Airlines
flight AA 1087, a scheduled service between Portland International Jetport (PWM) in Portland, Maine, and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) in Pennsylvania.

Per Flightradar24, the A319 departed at 14:12, almost an hour late from its scheduled departure of 13:17. However, it did not even reach 3,000 feet when the pilots decided to turn back to PWM.

American Airlines Airbus A319 (N714US) At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Photo: Kit Leong | Shutterstock

According to The Aviation Herald, the cockpit crew declared an emergency after there was an indication of a fire on the right engine. The report further states that the pilots successfully secured the engine and decided it was best to return to the airport of origin. Thankfully, the plane landed safely and was inspected by airport officials. Flightradar24 data says that it has not had any other flights after the incident.

The A319 involved is registered as N704US and is almost 26 years old. Per ch-aviation, it was delivered in December 1998 and has accumulated almost 70,000 flight hours across 39,337 flight cycles as of July 2024.

Engine stall causes diversion

The second incident of the day involved American Airlines flight AA1594, a scheduled service between Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) in Pennsylvania.

According to The Aviation Herald, the aircraft involved in the incident was an Airbus A319 registered N9010R, an 11.10-year-old plane delivered in September 2013. Per ch-aviation, it has accumulated a little over 32,000 flight hours across 14,209 cycles as of July 2024.

American Airlines Airbus A319 (N9017P)

Photo: Phillip Pilosian | Shutterstock

The aircraft was reportedly having issues with its right engine, with pilots reporting that it had stalled. The flight was diverted to John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) in Columbus, Ohio.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Columbus Regional Airport Authority spokesperson Breann Almos confirmed that the flight was diverted to CMH. However, it was not immediately clear if the diversion was primarily due to an engine issue.

Other AA A319 incidents this year

American Airlines has had a couple of other A319-related incidents this year. In March, one of its A319 planes was performing a scheduled flight between Boston Logan International (BOS) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), when it was

hit by birds soon after takeoff
.

Just a couple of minutes after takeoff, the pilots asked to level off at 6,000 ft after one of the engines experienced a compressor stall. Thankfully, the crew managed the situation well and made a safe landing.

American Airlines Airbus A319 taxiing shutterstock_1757634101

Photo: Alejandro Gonzalez M | Shutterstock

In May, an American Airlines A319 performing a flight from Charlotte International Airport (CLT) to Sint Maarten (SXM) had to reject its takeoff after one of its engines started “emitting bangs and streaks of flames.”

Related

American Airlines Airbus A319 Rejects Takeoff At Charlotte As Engine Emits Flames

The aircraft safely rejected its takeoff roll after engine surges and flames.

American Airlines has a diverse fleet of narrowbody and widebody airplanes from both Boeing and Airbus. And the A320 family of aircraft forms a significant chunk of its narrowbody fleet, which includes more than 130 Airbus A319s, of which 118 are in active service, per ch-aviation. The average age of the carrier’s A319s is 20.6 years.

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