American Airlines Miami to Paris Flight with 787 Makes Emergency Landing

3 tygodni temu

MIAMI— On March 28, 2025, an emergency two-bounce American Airlines (AA) Boeing 787 landing at Miami International Airport (MIA) began a grueling two-day travel ordeal for Deerfield Beach residents Andy and Fran Katz.

Fire trucks waited on the runway as their Paris-bound flight made a hard landing on Friday evening.

American Airlines Miami Emergency

After the landing, the couple returned to their original boarding area where American Airlines informed passengers they would receive a replacement aircraft from the maintenance hangar for their Paris-bound flight. The Katzes boarded the new plane just after 9 p.m., but their troubles were far from over.

Throughout the next four hours, the couple received six computer-generated messages on their phones continuously delaying departure with no explanation provided either via text or from onboard staff. Around 1 a.m., the captain finally announced that the aircraft’s computer navigation system remained problematic and the crew had reached their legally permitted working hours limit.

Passengers finally disembarked without having received any food during their extended wait on the aircraft, with only one small water bottle provided per person. The Katzes then navigated several counters at the airport before securing a hotel voucher, which Andy Katz noted required intervention from a supervisor after an airline employee initially denied them eligibility based on their Broward County residence.

The couple checked into Element Miami International Airport hotel around 2 a.m., only to receive seven additional automated emails from American Airlines. “At this point, the computer is just spitting out stuff,” Andy Katz explained.

Their rest proved minimal as they needed to contact European venues where they had reservations to inform them of their delayed arrival. Adding to their stress, the hotel—filled with guests attending the Ultra electronic music festival in downtown Miami—enforced a strict noon checkout policy.

American Airlines spokesperson Amanda Maldonado addressed the situation in a statement to the Miami Herald:

Our team is proactively reaching out to customers to apologize for their experience and the inconvenience caused by a mechanical issue. At American Airlines, the safety of our customers is at the center of every decision we make. We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and we regret that we did not meet the level of service they expect when they fly with us.”

American Airlines spokesperson

Maldonado confirmed that American has already provided miles to affected travelers as a “goodwill gesture.”

Complete Story

Andy and Fran Katz, both 73, planned a 14-day Paris vacation featuring upscale hotels and a river cruise. The retired scientist and former special education teacher initially saw their American Airlines Flight 62 depart Miami International Airport on schedule at 7:30 p.m. bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Approximately 30 minutes after takeoff, while still circling at about 4,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean, the captain informed passengers that the landing gear door had failed to close. This mechanical issue forced the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, registered as N871AY to return to Miami International Airport.

The aircraft experienced a double bounce during landing before finally settling on the runway. Despite the rough touchdown, passengers remained unharmed. “Everyone was fine,” Andy Katz reported. “The captain was very professional in talking to us; was very calm” throughout the descent. Relieved passengers broke into applause after safely landing.

This incident marked only the beginning of their travel complications. The following day, Saturday just past noon, the couple returned to Miami International Airport. They used their meal vouchers for lunch—Andy ordered a turkey BLT with orange juice while Fran selected a chicken sandwich and pineapple juice. Despite feeling tempted, they avoided the airport bar.

The vouchers proved inadequate for their expenses. American Airlines provided $24 per person for meals, but their actual lunch cost approximately $49 including tax and tip, based on the online menu prices.

Their second boarding attempt was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. but encountered another delay while waiting for a crew member to arrive. “Everyone clapped when that person showed up,” Katz recalled. “People were trying to be decent.”

Although they successfully boarded this time, their difficulties continued.

Second Issue

Nearly an hour after reboarding their flight, passengers heard an announcement that devastated their hopes for departure: “We’re sorry but we cannot get our navigation computer to work.”

Passengers quickly realized they had been placed on the same aircraft they had previously abandoned due to identical technical issues. “Maintenance was called again,” reported Tampa physician Alejandra Kalik, 59, who was among those stranded. The situation left Andy Katz incredulous: “It baffles me how they bring out a plane without being fully checked and have people board it, for a cross-ocean flight. And they really didn’t have information for us.”

Another passenger reported a flight attendant’s admission that maintenance personnel were attempting to resolve “the same issue as last evening’s issue with the second airplane (787, registered as N807AA).”

Back at the gate, passengers grew increasingly anxious during additional hours of waiting while the aircraft remained on the tarmac. American Airlines continued sending automated phone updates. Twenty-four hours past their original scheduled departure, passengers remained unable to change plans or retrieve their luggage. “We were told if we left the plane, we wouldn’t have access to our bags,” Katz explained.

The situation changed shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday when passengers finally received permission to disembark, rebook flights, and claim baggage. However, airline staff warned that doing so would forfeit their seats should the plane eventually depart.

Chaos at Airport

Dr. Kalik briefly left to eat and stretch her legs. “I came back to the gate to find chaos and people screaming at gate agents,” she recounted. “Gate agents were not giving any information as to whether the flight was going to go or get canceled.” The escalating tension prompted the arrival of approximately ten Miami-Dade sheriff’s deputies. Throughout the ordeal, Kalik noted, “there were several instances during this time that I was concerned for my personal safety.”

Exhausted and disillusioned, the Katzes decided to abandon their travel plans. “At that point, we had lost faith in American’s safety procedures,” Andy stated. They walked from Terminal E to Terminal D to request refunds and baggage delivery, a process requiring another hour.

After arranging for their belongings to be delivered to their home, they departed by Uber. Their luggage finally arrived Tuesday, April 1, after 3 p.m. local time—nearly 72 hours after leaving Miami International Airport.

The flight eventually departed for Paris after midnight Saturday without the Katzes aboard. Dr. Kalik, who remained on the flight and reached Paris, reported that “the captain announced that we would go without the computer being fixed as he could deal with the issue manually.”

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