American Airlines Boeing 737-800 Returns To Raleigh–Durham After Open Cargo Door Indication

An American Airlines Boeing 737 was forced to turn back to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) last week after indications that the cargo door was open. The incident took place on flight AA1460 on October 18th, 2024. The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Raleigh-Durham to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), and had climbed to an altitude of approximately 7,500 ft when the crew noticed the indicator, which later proved to be erroneous.

The aircraft landed safely one hour later

According to The Aviation Herald, the American Airlines Boeing 737-800, registered as N804NN, landed safely back on runway 05R at Raleigh-Durham International Airport around one hour after take-off. No passengers or crew members were injured in the incident. The flight’s routing and subsequent return to Raleigh-Durham can be seen on Flightradar24:

Shortly after the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a statement saying,

“American Airlines Flight 1460 returned safely to Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina around 9:30 a.m. local time on Friday, October 18, after the crew reported a possible open cargo door. The Boeing 737-800 was headed to Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The FAA will investigate.”

Data from Flightradar24 shows that the aircraft spent around seven hours on the ground at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, presumably while it was inspected by engineers. The Boeing 737-800 later returned to service as Flight AA2562 to Cleveland (CLE).

Photo: Nate Hovee | Shutterstock

N804NN is one of 303 Boeing 737-800s currently in American Airlines’ fleet, according to the latest data from ch-aviation, with an average age of 15 years old. Each of the carrier’s 737-800s can carry up to 172 passengers in a two-class configuration – 16 in business class and 156 in economy class.

You might also like:

Fleet Analysis: 4 US Airlines That Fly Both The Boeing 737-800 & The 737 MAX

The two aircraft variants undoubtedly complement each other despite having an age separation of several years.

The fifth-busiest route from Raleigh-Durham

American Airlines flies up to five times per day between Raleigh-Durham and Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The carrier faces direct competition on the route in the form of Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines.

Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock

The route to Chicago O’Hare is the fifth-busiest domestic route from Raleigh-Durham, with more than 311,000 passengers over the past year. The busiest domestic route is to Atlanta (ATL), which saw over 707,000 passengers in the past 12 months. The most popular international route, meanwhile, is to London Heathrow (LHR), which saw more than 122,000 passengers over the same period.

American Airlines is by far the largest operator at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, boasting a 21.2% market share, followed by Delta Air Lines (20.5%) and Southwest Airlines (15.4%).

You might also like:

TCAS Alert: American Airlines Boeing 737-800 Misses Cessna 182 By Only 400 Feet During Austin Approach

A private aircraft made an unexpected turn, putting it on a course to collide with the inbound American Airlines aircraft.

Last week’s incident hit the headlines after a challenging year for the Boeing 737. In January 2024, an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 experienced a door blowout, leading to the fleet’s temporary grounding.