A False Alarm Triggered An Emergency Landing For An American Airlines Flight From Chicago To Las Vegas

An American Airlines Boeing 737.

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

• An American Airlines Boeing 737 made an emergency landing during the Thanksgiving weekend.
• The FAA said the crew reported a "possible electric issue."
• An airline spokesperson said an indicator light was later confirmed to be false.

An American Airlines jet made an emergency landing Sunday after the crew reported a "possible electric issue."

The 14-year-old Boeing 737 was operating Flight 1047, from Chicago O'Hare to Las Vegas. Data from Flightradar24 shows it flew for about half an hour before turning back to Chicago.

"American Airlines Flight 1047 returned safely to Chicago O'Hare International Airport around 9:45 a.m. local time on Sunday, December 1, after the crew reported a possible electrical issue," the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

The FAA will investigate the incident, it added.

The Aviation Herald, which first reported the incident, said the crew reported the autopilot and autothrottle disconnected, a takeoff configuration warning horn, and door lights were activated.

"An indicator light identified a possible mechanical issue that, after inspection, was confirmed to be false," an American Airlines spokesperson told Business Insider.

The same 737 flew to San Francisco later that day, per Flightradar24.

Sunday's incident occurred during the Thanksgiving weekend, one of the US's busiest travel periods.

From Sunday, November 24, to Thanksgiving Day, the FAA documented a record 232,000 flights across the US.

American Airlines said last month it expected to fly 8.3 million people across more than 77,000 flights — with Sunday the busiest day.

Passengers later re-departed for Las Vegas on a replacement aircraft, an airline spokesperson told USA Today.

The incident came eight days after an American Airlines passenger was taken to hospital after a 777 encountered turbulence between Brazil and Miami. It became a four-hour flight to nowhere.