An American Airlines Airbus 321 was forced to make an emergency landing at Nellis AFB, Nevada after running low on fuel earlier today. The flight, AA 671, with 194 passengers and crew members aboard was on approach for McCarran International Airport when weather forced it to circle longer than intended. It originated from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The flight is normally scheduled for two and a half hours, but the aircraft’s time in the air was extended by 45 minutes, using all of its emergency fuel reserves.
The airplane was on the ground at Nellis for nearly 80 minutes. It was refueled and made the 22 minute flight to McCarran which meant it was two hours late.
Final Word
It is rare to see a commercial airliner make an emergency landing at a military installation. In this case, Nellis air traffic controllers guided the fuel starved aircraft to the base. A huge thanks to the transient alert, POL (petroleum, oil, and lubricants), and support personnel who took care of the aircraft while on the base. It is unfortunate the passengers were not able to get pizza.
Human error is always at play Rob. Happy to see the emergency landing went smoothly and even though folks were a bit delayed, most probably felt good about avoiding a potential catastrophic situation.