An American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner has been pulled from service as a witness claims to have seen its engine ingest a cargo container on the taxiway.
The American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (flight AA47) had arrived at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) from London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) around 16:00 local time on October 17, 2024, when the incident occurred.
Photos of the damaged Boeing 787-9, registered N834AA, were shared online by @WindyCityDriver, a former-infantry marine and airport worker who lives in Chicago.
The airport worker explained that a passenger onboard the American Airlines flight had been told by crew members that “someone drove between two planes taxiing and the jet blast of the first aircraft blew the containers towards #AA47 and one was ingested”.
The witness in question has proposed that the container possibly “blew off a trailer being towed” nearby.
Close-up of the damage to the #2 engine. A passenger on the aircraft says that the crew informed them that someone drove between two planes taxiing and the jetblast of the first aircraft blew the containers towards #AAL47 and one was ingested. pic.twitter.com/zW5bpLM4lE
— Windy City Wheelman (@WindyCityDriver) October 17, 2024
While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) acknowledged the incident, the agency only referred to an “engine issue” in a statement, advising that “passengers deplaned normally”.
According to the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), there were 283 passengers and 12 crew members onboard the aircraft when the incident occurred.
At approx. 3 this afternoon, @AmericanAir Flight 47 was on Taxiway Bravo, heading to its gate at T5 when it ingested a cargo container into its #2 (right) engine destroying the can and severely damaging the aircraft. There are no reported injuries #ChicagoScanner #avgeek #AA47 pic.twitter.com/bMahnpu7S8
— Windy City Wheelman (@WindyCityDriver) October 17, 2024
A spokesperson for American Airlines said: “After safely landing at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), American Airlines flight 47, with service from London-Heathrow (LHR), reported damage to its engine while taxiing to the gate at ORD. The aircraft has been taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team.”
The spokesperson added: “Safety is our top priority, and we thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding.”