American Airlines Airbus A321 Finally Returns To Service After Colliding With Passenger Bus At Los Angeles International Airport
Summary
- A damaged American Airlines has finally returned to commercial service, beginning to operate flights on June 5.
- The aircraft suffered extensive damage when it collided with a bus at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
- Over the past few years, US airlines have repaired older air frames, including a 33-year-old Boeing 767-300ER.
An American Airlines Airbus A321ceo, which was significantly damaged in a ground incident at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), has returned to service after being in maintenance for more than a year. On June 5, 2024, the aircraft operated its first commercial flight since the February 2023 incident.
Returning to service
Flightradar24 records showed that the American Airlines aircraft, an A321ceo registered as N193UW, operated a test flight from/to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) using the special flight code AA9782 on June 4.
On June 5, Airbus A321ceo operated five flights, including a flight between Denver International Airport (DEN) and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), which it currently is flying at the time of writing. The red-eye flight is scheduled to land at 4:35 local time (UTC -4).
According to the flight tracking website, American Airlines has scheduled four more flights with the airframe on June 6, starting with an itinerary between CLT and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). Subsequently, the Airbus A321ceo should fly to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), from where it will operate a return journey to Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on flight AA2101.
Photo: MKPhoto12 | Shutterstock
To note, none of the flights are scheduled to fly above water. Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that American Airlines has scheduled plenty of flights with the Airbus A321 to fly to overseas destinations in June, such as Oranjestad Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA), Barbados Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI), and others.
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Impact with a bus at LAX
Nevertheless, the Airbus A321 suffered significant damage to its fuselage during a ground collision with a bus at LAX in February 2023. The incident happened when a passenger bus crashed into the aircraft while it was moving on the taxiway, resulting in a few injuries onboard the aircraft.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
A post-accident video shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed the aircraft and the bus on one of the taxiways at LAX, while pictures indicated that the A321’s radome, as well as the front undercarriage, had significant damage, including metal that was stripped and was showing the structural frame of the aircraft.
Planespotters.net data showed that the aircraft remained at LAX until September 5, 2023, before it was finally moved to PIT on September 2023. There, it spent significant time undergoing maintenance. A post-repair video indicated that maintenance technicians had replaced the front fuselage skin and the radome.
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Repairing old aircraft
According to ch-aviation data, Airbus initially delivered the A321 to US Airways on July 17, 2008. Subsequently, it was moved to American Airlines’ air operator’s certificate (AOC) when the two airlines and their holding companies finalized their merger in April 2015, with the aircraft being registered under American Airlines’ banner in October 2015, ch-aviation records indicated.
Nevertheless, there have been more than a few cases where significantly damaged aircraft have returned to service, especially in the US. United Airlines repaired a Boeing 767-300ER, registered as N641UA, which suffered an extremely hard landing at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in July 2023.
After spending more than a few months in maintenance, the widebody jet returned to service in March 2024. Its first commercial flight was on March 27, when it operated flight UA854 between IAH and Lima Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM).
Another example was a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-200, registered as N543US, which was also involved in a hard landing at Ponta Delgada Aeroporto João Paulo II (PDL) in August 2019. A month later after that incident, Delta Air Lines ferried the 757-200 to its main hub at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), with the aircraft finally returning to commercial service in December 2019.
Photo: Portuguese Safety Investigation Authority (GPIAAF)
However, repairing older aircraft nowadays should not come as a surprise, considering how aircraft manufacturers have struggled to deliver aircraft on time. Following the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 mid-air door plug blowout incident and the subsequent fallout, Robert Isom, the chief executive officer (CEO) of American Airlines, told CNBC that his message to Boeing was that the company has to get its “act together.”
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