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An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX, seen here at LaGuardia last year, landed safely in Newark on March 5, 2021, after its captain had to turn off an engine.
REUTERS
The disaster was averted at Newark Liberty airport on Friday, when an American Airlines flight landed safely after an engine had to be shut down due to a possible mechanical problem.
Flight 2555 from Miami landed without incident, with 95 passengers and six crew members on board, according to the airline.
The potential problem with the Boeing 737 MAX was related to an engine oil pressure or volume indicator – not the MCAS system failure that was associated with two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people, officials said.
American was the first domestic airline to resume 737 MAX flights after a 20-month stranding.
Boeing Co. said it was aware of the American emergency and that the FAA is investigating.
After declaring the plane safe to fly again in November, FAA administrator Steve Dickson warned that mechanical problems during the flight occasionally occur with all commercial aircraft
“For this reason, it is inevitable that at some point in the future, a Boeing 737 MAX will return to the airport of origin, divert or land at its destination with a real or suspected flight problem,” said Dickson at the time.
“It is very important to differentiate between these routine events that happen with any aircraft and the serious safety problems that led to the loss of life and the stranding of the MAX.”
Former President Trump landed the model in March 2019 after a 737 MAX crashed shortly after takeoff in Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board.
The accident occurred months after a Lion Air flight plunged into the ocean after taking off from Indonesia, killing 189 dead.
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