DALLAS — A flight that was scheduled to land in Tampa faced an hours-long delay after it declared an emergency landing due to a possible mechanical issue, American Airlines confirmed.
In a report from Aviation Source News, American Airlines flight 2321 from the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport declared an emergency minutes after departing. It was originally set to land at 10:49 a.m. Wednesday at Tampa International Airport.
The article states it landed due to squawking code 7700. According to the Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology, this means a general emergency such as engine failure, medical issues, problems with landing gear, pressurization or flight control.
A spokesperson with American Airlines tells 10 Tampa Bay the aircraft returned to the Texas airport "without incident and taxied to the gate under its own power." You can read the full statement below.
American Airlines flight 2321 with service from Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) to Tampa (TPA) returned to DFW due to a possible mechanical issue. The aircraft landed without incident and taxied to the gate under its own power. The flight re-departed for TPA at 2:06 p.m. We never want to disrupt our customers' travel plans and apologize for the inconvenience.
The aircraft was reportedly a Boeing 737-800, which has been operating for over 10 years.
After returning to the DFW airport, the flight was able to once again get back in the air after a 4-hour and 5-minute delay, according to Flight Aware.
The plane is expected to land at 5:10 p.m. at TPA.
