American Airlines has been feeling the heat this past week when they discovered they sent an A321 to Hawaii. No one has yet to say what the intended flight was because the real interest about this story is that particular airplane is not actually equipped to fly that route. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, flying that long over open ocean where there is no where to go should something go wrong, requires the plane to have certain equipment for the case of the emergency. Once the airline realized the mistake they got the okay from the FAA to continue the flight and land the plane safely, which was carrying a full flight of travelers.

For most planes that fly this route the physical difference between the A321H and the A321S is the A321H has an extra medical oxygen tank and extra fire suppression canisters in the hold down below. That doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, and in the end it wasn’t.

An incident like this is a very rare occurrence which is probably why the story is so interesting. How did a plane full of passengers and cabin crew make it almost half way to Hawaii before they realized they were on the wrong route? How did this mistake slip by so many people? The list of people who should have caught this mistake BEFORE the plane took off would have been:

• Maintenance personnel could have noticed the problem.
• Dispatchers could have seen that it was the wrong airplane being sent.
• Rampers could have noticed the giant “ETOPS” wasn’t written on the nose gear door.
• Pilots could have known this wasn’t the right airplane.

I am sure this will be a learning lesson for American Airlines and all other airlines. After landing the plane was immediately flown back to LA, empty, and a return flight for all passengers was scheduled.

Sources:

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2015/09/14/american-airlines-admits-it-sent-wrong-plane-to-fly-to-hawaii/

http://crankyflier.com/2015/09/15/american-really-screwed-up-when-it-sent-the-wrong-airplane-to-hawaii/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/09/13/american-airlines-accidentally-flew-the-wrong-plane-from-l-a-to-hawaii-last-month/