ORLANDO, Fla. — Amid an aircraft shortage caused by mechanical issues, a Southwest Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Orlando International Airport because of issues with landing gear.
- Southwest flight landed safely after fears about landing gear
- Company has struggled with high number of out-of-service aircraft
- Executive says dispute with mechanics union exacerbating problem
- RELATED: Here's Why Southwest Has Canceled More Than 400 Flights
Southwest Flight 736 took off at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, bound for Denver.
UPDATE: @SouthwestAir Flight 736 makes safe emergency landing at @MCO —- Flight FLL - DEN averted; pilots reported landing gear issues. @MyNews13 STORY: https://t.co/p5GLjsKZjx pic.twitter.com/9O0afJdO07
— Greg Angel (@NewsGuyGreg) February 21, 2019
But the plane began circling Orlando International Airport around noon, with the pilot telling air traffic control that there was a concern with the front landing gear.
The plane made several loops over OIA, where emergency crews were standing by when the plane landed safely just after 12:30 p.m.
The airport said the plane experienced a blown nose-gear tire after departing from Fort Lauderdale.
"I hear about some of the things going on before in the news, but I just know that I put my faith in God and pray to God to get us there safe," said Lateefah Jackson, who was flying to Texas.
The aircraft was built in 2016, although Southwest didn't say when it was last placed under maintenance.
Southwest put the passengers on a different aircraft, which continued safely on to Denver.
The emergency landing comes at a critical time for Southwest Airlines. The FAA in recent weeks has been stepping up oversight of the airline's maintenance operations, and the airline has been pulling planes out of rotation for unscheduled maintenance.
More than 400 Southwest flights — about 10 percent of its flight schedule — were canceled from Tuesday to Wednesday because of wintry weather and "higher-than-average out-of-service aircraft."
The company's chief operating officer says a work dispute with one of its mechanics unions has led to the company having to take aircraft out of service. On February 12, the company had an "unprecedented" number of out-of-service aircraft at four maintenance locations, COO Mike Van de Ven said in a statement.
Southwest confirmed that its maintenance facility in Orlando was one of five it considers under an "operational state of emergency."
"We will be investigating this current disruption and exploring all possible remedies," Van de Ven said.