Three strikes at Charlotte Douglas
In an eerie turn of events, three departing aircraft at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) have been forced to return to the airport shortly after takeoff in the last week.
Two of those flights were operated by American Airlines, and the third occurrence was on Wednesday when a Delta Air Lines service headed for Atlanta reported a technical fault and returned to the airport. The three flights were:
- February 26 Delta DL3067 Charlotte - Atlanta
- February 25 American Airlines AA1216 Charlotte - West Palm Beach
- February 22 American Airlines AA859 Charlotte - Nassau
On February 26, a Delta Air Lines 25-year-old Boeing 717-200, registration N946AT and MSN 55009, departed Charlotte Douglas International at 10:16.
Flight DL3067 was bound for Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International (ATL) with a scheduled arrival of 11:30.
The Delta Boeing 717 is now back in the air
The Boeing 717 had flown in from Detroit Metropolitan John Wayne County Airport (DTW) and arrived at CLT at 08:56.
After returning to the airport, it did not complete the Atlanta service, and tracking data shows it remained on the ground in Charlotte until resuming service the following morning.
On Thursday, it started the day as flight DL 1405, departing CLT at 06:18 and landing in Detroit at 07:31.
The schedule shows a full day of flying ahead, with return services from Detroit to Kansas City (MCI) and Raleigh-Durham (RDU) and a final one-way flight to Nashville International Airport (BNA) scheduled to arrive at 20:56.
The two previous cases at CLT
On Tuesday, February 25, 2025, American Airlines flight AA1216 departed Charlotte Douglas International Airport on time at 14:04, headed for West Palm Beach.
The operating aircraft was a 2014 Airbus A321-200, registration N912UY and MSN 06264, which, shortly after takeoff, reported a mechanical issue and returned to Charlotte Douglas.
American Airlines (American) issued the following statement:
“On Feb. 25, American Airlines flight 1216, with service from Charlotte (CLT) to Palm Beach (PBI), returned to CLT shortly after takeoff due to maintenance. The flight landed safely and taxied to the gate under its own power. The aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team, and customers boarded a replacement aircraft to continue to PBI. We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologize for the inconvenience this caused.”
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows that the American Airlines Airbus A321 has not flown since the incident.
It is scheduled to resume service on Friday with a 10:59 return service from CLT to New Orleans (MSY), followed by a return service to San Antonio (SAT) and a one-way flight to Louisville International Airport (SDF).
On Saturday, February 22, 2025, American Airlines flight AA859 departed Charlotte on time at 14:01 but was forced to return to the airport shortly after takeoff.
The flight to Bahamas' Nassau Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) was operated with a 25-year-old Boeing 737-800, registration N928AN and MSN 29528. This time, the American statement said:
“On Feb. 22, American Airlines flight 859 with service from Charlotte (CLT) to Nassau (NAS) returned to CLT shortly after takeoff due to a mechanical issue. The flight landed safely and taxied to the gate under its own power. The aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. Customers boarded a replacement aircraft to continue to NAS. We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologize for the inconvenience this caused.”
The Boeing 737 was back in service on Monday, with a return flight from CLT to St. Louis (STL), followed by a return to Richmond (RIC) and a one-way flight to Nashville (BNA).
