Plane makes unexpected landing in Longview

LONGVIEW – An American Airlines flight bound for DFW International Airport made an unexpected landing Thursday at East Texas Regional Airport in Longview due to a “possible mechanical issue,” according to a statement from the airline. According to our news partner KETK, Flight 4210 was scheduled to fly from Alexandria, Louisiana, and was supposed to land in Dallas around noon. At some point during the flight, the plane squawked “7700”, the standard code for declaring an emergency. It’s unclear when the code was sent out, but the plane continued to fly toward Dallas before turning around west of Henderson. The plane then made a landing at East Texas Regional just before 11:30 a.m., according to the plane tracking site FlightAware.

American Airlines said the plane landed safely and was able to taxi to the gate under its own power. The specific mechanical problem is still unknown. The airline said a replacement plane would be sent to Longview to pick up the passengers.