American Airlines flight from NYC to Spain forced to land in Boston over cracked windshield

Nicholas McEntyre
·2 min read

An American Airlines flight from New York to Spain was forced to land in Boston after the plane’s windshield cracked over two hours into the trip late Wednesday night.

Flight 94 departed from JFK Airport at 7:28 p.m. and was scheduled to land in Madrid, but an Alert 2 was issued at around 9:46 p.m, NBC Boston reported, citing the Massachusetts State Police.

An Alert 2 “indicates that an aircraft is having major difficulties” and “a difficult or crash landing may be expected,” according to the City of Phoenix Sky Harbor Response Aviation Emergencies procedures.

The plane was flying over the Atlantic Ocean at the time it turned back to where it landed in Boston at 10:03 p.m., data from flight tracking website FlightAware showed.

An American Airlines Boeing 777-200 flying from New York to Madrid, diverted to Boston after the windshield cracked. NurPhoto via Getty Images
An American Airlines Boeing 777-200 flying from New York to Madrid, diverted to Boston after the windshield cracked. NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Boeing 777-200 returned to the US because of a “maintenance issue,” the airline confirmed to The Post in a statement.

“The flight landed safely and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team,” the statement read.

Passengers on the flight were given overnight hotel space and will depart for Madrid on a replacement aircraft on Thursday afternoon.

“We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologize for the inconvenience this has caused,” the statement added.

The plane was only two hours into the flight at the time it turned back around. FlightAware
The plane was only two hours into the flight at the time it turned back around. FlightAware

Last month, a United Airlines flight from Las Vegas to DC was diverted to Colorado after its own windshield formed a crack in the middle of the flight.

The United Airlines plane, a Boeing 737-800, was carrying 166 passengers and seven crew members at the time it landed safely at Denver International Airport.

A plane change occurred and all the passengers reboarded and departed to Dulles International again.

Passengers on the flight were given overnight hotel space in Boston and will depart for Madrid on a replacement aircraft on Thursday afternoon. REUTERS
Passengers on the flight were given overnight hotel space in Boston and will depart for Madrid on a replacement aircraft on Thursday afternoon. REUTERS

During the first week of the new year, Alaskan Airlines flight 1282 was forced to make an emergency landing after a side panel on the Boeing 747 MAX 9 blew off midflight creating chaos inside the cabin.

Initial reports from the US National Transportation Safety Board determined four key bolts were missing from the door panel when it flew off.