American 737 MAX pilots declare emergency over engine troubles

An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX declared an emergency before landing at its destination, after the pilots reported possible engine troubles.

According to reports, the captain needed to shut down the right engine after the aircrew were made aware of possible mechanical issues related to the engine’s oil pressure or volume indicator.

The plane was about 210 nautical miles south-south-west of its destination at the time of the indication.

The aircraft, registration N327SK, was performing flight AA-2555 to New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport from Miami with 95 passengers and six crew on board.

The plane landed safely on its one remaining engine at Newark following the emergency call.

Other details on the matter are currently scarce.

The jet in question was delivered to American on 30 December 2020, just over a month after the US Federal Aviation Administration lifted its ban on the MAX across the US.

American Airlines was the first in the US to resume flights on the 737 MAX after its 20-month long grounding.

It should be noted that the engine incident is not related to the MCAS failures that were at the heart of two fatal crashes aboard the 737 MAX in 2018 and 2019.

Investigations will commence into the cause of the engine issue, according to Boeing.

Officials have been anticipating such incidents to occur due to heightened scrutiny over the MAX’s operations.

In fact, since shortly after the aircraft’s recertification, the FAA has been actively tracking data from all 737 MAX flights throughout the world using satellite data, under an agreement made with air traffic surveillance firm Aireon.

When the FAA gave the plane the green light to fly once more, administrator Steve Dickson noted that while he is confident in the safety of the plane, the regulator is expecting incidents to occur and be reported on the MAX, as is the case across all commercial aircraft every so often.

“For that reason, it is inevitable that at some time in the future, a Boeing 737 MAX will turn back to its originating airport, divert, or land at its destination with an actual or suspected in-flight problem,” he said.

He added: “It’s very important to differentiate between these routine events that happen with any aircraft and the acute safety issues that led to the loss of lives and grounding of the MAX.”