AA passengers go on an eight-hour flight to nowhere

AMERICAN AIRLINES BOEING 787-9 N838AA (MSN 40659)

Passengers on an American Airlines plane earlier this month went on an eight-hour flight to nowhere when the plane suddenly turned around and returned to the same airport, according to the airline.

Flight AA281 departed from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW/KDFW) on the 7th of September almost an hour late, at 11.27 am from runway 36R. The flight was just over four hours into its journey to Incheon International Airport (ICN/RKSI) in Seoul when it turned around over the Pacific Ocean.

The aircraft returned to Dallas due to a "maintenance issue" involving the lavatories and a potential for overflowing sinks, a spokesperson for the airline told the media.

The flight landed safely at 7.03 pm on runway 36L without incident at DFW, and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team.

"We never want to disrupt our customers' travel plans, and we apologize for the inconvenience, the airline said."

Passengers were given overnight accommodations near DFW, airport the airline added. The flight resumed on a new aircraft the next day.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: American Airlines

Code: AA/AAL

Aircraft: Boeing 787-9

Registration: N824AN

Serial Number: 40643

Engines: 2 x Genx-1B74/75/P1

First Flew: 7th December 2016

Age: 7.9 Years Old