Emergency landing as Southwest 737 MAX hits engine trouble in Florida, sending Boeing shares down again
- The aircraft, part of the grounded 737 MAX fleet, was being repositioned and had no passengers aboard
A Southwest Airlines Co Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft without passengers landed safely on Tuesday after declaring an emergency over an engine-related problem leaving Orlando International Airport in Florida, the US Federal Aviation Administration said.
The plane, the type that was grounded two weeks ago after two recent crashes, was headed to Victorville, California, for repositioning but returned safely to Orlando at about 2.50pm.
The FAA grounded the 737 MAX after two fatal crashes since October but has allowed airlines to conduct flights without passengers to move planes to other airports. A Boeing spokesman said it the company was “aware of the incident and supporting our customer.” Southwest did not immediately comment.
Boeing’s shares fell about 1.5 per cent in extended trade after news of the emergency landing broke.
Since the deadly crash of an Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet on March 10, Boeing stock has lost more than 12 per cent as of Tuesday’s close.
