A scheduled American Airlines flight from Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) was canceled shortly after pushback on Friday, after it experienced an engine backfire. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, according to FlightAware, has since remained on the apron, and passengers were rebooked onto alternative flights.
Operating as flight AA2653, the plane had just pushed back from the gate and was beginning to taxi to the runway when an indicator warning alerted pilots of a potential fire. This saw the Fresno Fire Department respond to the incident, as the plane returned to the gate. The aircraft has been spotted surrounded by the responding fire crew and other authorities.
An Early Morning Flight To Dallas Has Been Canceled
AA2653 was scheduled to depart at 5:41 AM, operating a nonstop service to American’s biggest hub, Dallas/Fort Worth. According to Your Central Valley, passengers had safely boarded the aircraft at Fresno, and the plane pushed back just two minutes behind schedule for its flight to Texas.
While the pilots were alerted to a potential fire, the fire department did not find any visible fire or smoke coming from the Boeing aircraft, which has led to the assumption that the aircraft backfired as it was preparing to taxi. Following the incident, the plane subsequently returned to the gate, and all passengers were deplaned and rebooked onto another service.
There have been no reports of injury to anyone on board, and the plane remains on the apron at Fresno while investigations into what occurred on Friday morning are underway.
The flight was a scheduled American service from Fresno to Dallas. The airline maintains a daily service at this time, which takes around three and a half hours, usually gate to gate, covering a distance of 1,313 miles (2,113 km). AA2653 had an expected arrival time into DFW of 10:59 AM.
Fresno Yosemite International Airport is the main airport for commercial operations in the San Joaquin Valley and a gateway to three national parks: Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia. Passenger flights are offered by several major US airlines and have international services to Mexico (Aeromexico and Volaris). American Airlines maintains nonstop flights to Fresno from both Dallas/Fort Worth and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).
According to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the largest airline is SkyWest Airlines, which operates around 38% of all flights to the airport (who operate on behalf of United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines). The largest mainline carrier is American Airlines, with 25% of all operations, followed by Southwest with 17%.
The narrowbody was hit by a firework just moments before touchdown.
13-Year-Old Aircraft Operating The Flight From Fresno: N920NN
The aircraft at the center of the incident is that of 13.4-year-old N920NN. According to ch-aviation, the aircraft carries serial number 31165 and was delivered to American on March 14, 2013. Leading up to the incident at Fresno, flight data shows the aircraft has been operating regularly without major disruption.
Configured to carry up to 172 passengers across two classes (16 Domestic First, 156 Main Cabin), the aircraft is part of the airline’s fleet of more than 1,000 mainline aircraft, of which in excess of 300 are the 737-800. Further aircraft details are captured in the table below according to the Swiss-based data and intelligence provider:
An aircraft backfire can be caused by several factors, including faulty ignition timing, incorrect fuel-air mixtures, leaky valves, or other issues. It occurs when the unburned fuel ignites outside of the combustion chamber. In severe cases, this can cause mechanical damage, including cracking the exhaust systems. It remains unclear whether the level of damage (if any) to this aircraft has occurred.
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