6 injured as American Airlines flight makes ‘hard landing’ at Maui airport

Six people were injured Saturday afternoon when an American Airlines flight departing from Los Angeles made a “hard landing” at Kahului Airport in Maui, authorities said.

The Maui Police Department said first responders were called to the scene at approximately 2:21 p.m. Hawaii news mentionted.

American Airlines confirmed that one passenger and five flight attendants were injured. They were taken to a hospital in stable condition and later released.

The aircraft was carrying 167 passengers and seven crew members.

American Airlines said its flight 271 was able to reach the gate under its control. The plane was taken out of service for inspection.

The incident follows a series of aircraft-related incidents reported this month.

Earlier this month, an Alaska Airlines flight bound for California made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport after a large section of the plane’s sidewall exploded shortly after takeoff due to depressurization.

Although there were no casualties or injuries and the plane landed safely, US regulators temporarily grounded 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft – the type of aircraft involved in the incident – for safety checks a day after the incident.

A few weeks after the grounding, an Atlas Air Boeing 747-8 cargo plane experienced an “engine malfunction” mid-air en route to Puerto Rico from Miami, according to an airline official.

However, no injuries were reported as the aircraft never climbed above 3,800 feet.

In another incident, a Virgin Atlantic flight was canceled just before departure from the UK to New York after a passenger spotted screws missing from the plane’s wing.

Passengers captured footage of a mechanic using a screwdriver to repair missing fasteners on an Airbus A330 aircraft.

Airbus local wing chief engineer Neil Firth confirmed the affected panel was a secondary structure to improve the plane’s aerodynamics. Each panel contains 119 fasteners and the missing ones did not affect the structural integrity or load capacity of the wing.