An American Airlines flight bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, was forced to return to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning after the crew reported smoke coming from the left engine.
American Airlines Flight 1665, an Airbus A321 carrying 153 passengers and six crew members, departed from Las Vegas at approximately 8:10 a.m. local time, according to
FlightAware, a flight-tracking website.
Shortly after takeoff, the crew detected an issue with the aircraft’s engine, prompting the plane to return to the airport.
The plane landed safely back at Harry Reid International Airport around 8:20 a.m., according to the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has launched an investigation into the incident.
“The aircraft taxied to the gate under its own power and customers deplaned normally,” American Airlines said in a statement sent to multiple news outlets, noting that smoke had been observed by crew coming from the plane’s left engine. The airline added: “We appreciate the professionalism of our crew and thank our team who are working to get our customers to their destinations as quickly as possible.”
First-class passenger Patrick Chapin told
8 News Now, a CBS affiliate, that he heard a loud boom, followed by a persistent, unsettling noise. “It sounded like if you put a tire iron inside a dryer, rumbling and rumbling and it just wouldn’t stop,” Chapin said.
All passengers and crew exited the aircraft without incident, according to American Airlines. The airline has taken the Airbus A321 out of service for a thorough evaluation after the engine issue.
A recovery flight was scheduled to depart from Las Vegas to Charlotte on Thursday, June 26, at 1:00 p.m., according to
Flightview by OAG, to accommodate affected passengers.
The FAA will continue its investigation to determine the cause of the engine smoke and any contributing factors, according to the agency’s statement.
This latest incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of aviation safety, as the industry has faced several high-profile emergencies in recent months.
In April, passengers on another American Airlines flight were evacuated in Georgia after smoke was detected in the cockpit, prompting an emergency evacuation.
Additionally, in March, an American Airlines Boeing 737-800
diverted to Denver International Airport after an engine caught fire, resulting in minor injuries to a dozen people.
According to
data from the National Transportation Safety Board, there have been 103 fatal plane crashes and 426 non-fatal crashes in 2025 as of June 26, though the overall trend continues to show a decline in fatal commercial plane crashes worldwide since 2019.
