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Southwest Boeing 737 Max Makes Emergency Landing After Engine Trouble
![Southwest Boeing 737 Max Makes Emergency Landing After Engine Trouble]()
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration grounded the 737 MAX following the two crashes but has allowed airlines to conduct flights without passengers to move planes to other airports. Southwest Boeing 737 Max Makes Emergency Landing After Engine Trouble
A Southwest Airlines Co Boeing 737 MAX 8 heading to the California desert for parking during a global ban of the aircraft made an emergency landing on Tuesday due to an engine-related problem shortly after take-off, the carrier said.
It did not have any passengers and the issue was not related to a computer system on the 737 MAX aircraft that has come under scrutiny following two fatal crashes, one on Lion Air and another on Ethiopian Airlines, since October, the airline said.
“The crew followed protocol and safely landed back at the airport,” Southwest said in a statement.
Southwest Flight 8701 returned to Orlando International Airport just before 3 p.m. ET (1900 GMT) after pilots reported a performance issue with one of the engines, the airline said.
The flight was scheduled to fly from Orlando to a logistics airport in Victorville, California, near the Mojave desert, where Southwest began flying its fleet of 34 MAX jets for storage.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration grounded the 737 MAX following the two crashes but has allowed airlines to conduct flights without passengers to move planes to other airports.
A Southwest Airlines Co. 737 Max aircraft being flown to storage after a U.S. grounding order was forced to return to a Florida airport Tuesday because of an engine problem, the carrier said.
The fault on the Boeing Co. jetliner had “absolutely no relation” to the flight-control issue that prompted U.S. regulators to ground all 737 Max aircraft on March 13, said Brandy King, a spokeswoman for Southwest. The engine “performance issue” occurred shortly after the plane left Orlando International Airport at about 2:50 p.m., she said.
The crew of Southwest Flight 8701 declared an emergency shortly after takeoff and landed safely in Orlando, said the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the incident. The Max aircraft was being flown to a storage area in Victorville, California, and only the pilots were on board, Southwest said. The plane was taken to a maintenance hangar after landing.
The FAA grounding allows for airlines to fly 737 Max aircraft that don’t have passengers, and Southwest is gradually shifting its 34 Max jets to Victorville. Boeing and FAA test pilots are also allowed to make flights to demonstrate the software fixes being developed for the planes.
