American Airlines Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Jackson Due to Engine Trouble

JACKSON, Miss. — A commercial flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Houston, Texas, was forced to make an emergency landing at Jackson-Evers International Airport due to engine issues on Thursday afternoon.

American Airlines Flight 1478 was scheduled for a non-stop journey when it encountered engine trouble shortly after takeoff. The flight landed safely in Jackson at 1:47 p.m. local time, and passengers reported a gradual increase in concern before the landing.

One passenger, Michael Jones, expressed relief about the situation. “I’m glad they did stop it because, who knows, there could’ve been another crash, so I’m glad that they’re OK,” he said. “When they said, OK, the plane is here now, we’re getting ready to load you up, they all started applauding. It was nice to see them applauding after they had been there for a while.”

American Airlines confirmed in a statement that the flight was diverted due to a possible maintenance issue. “American Airlines Flight 1478, with service from Charlotte (CLT) to Houston (IAH), diverted to Jackson, Mississippi (JAN) due to a possible maintenance issue. The flight landed safely at JAN and taxied to the gate under its own power. The aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. Customers will board a replacement aircraft to re-depart to IAH. We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans, and we apologize for the inconvenience,” said an American Airlines spokesperson.

After the emergency landing, passengers were placed on an alternate aircraft and scheduled to depart for Houston at 9:05 p.m. local time. The incident comes amid increased scrutiny of American Airlines following a separate tragic incident involving one of its flights and a military helicopter in late January.

In addition to the initial emergency landing, passengers reported frustrations about delays for the continued journey. Some were left looking for hotels in Jackson while they awaited further updates on their flight.

The quick response by the crew and maintenance teams was praised by several passengers, who expressed gratitude for the concern for safety displayed by American Airlines.