A Southwest Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday after an engine problem forced the crew to abandon a short hop up the California coast.
Southwest Flight 3396, a Boeing 737-700, had departed John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana bound for San Jose Mineta International Airport when the crew reported an engine issue shortly after takeoff. The pilots declared an emergency, set their transponder to 7700 — the code for a general emergency — and diverted to Los Angeles, landing safely on Runway 25L at about 12:25 p.m. local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
"Southwest Airlines Flight 3396 landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport around 12:25 p.m. local time after the crew reported an engine issue," the FAA said in a statement. The agency said it will investigate what prompted the diversion.
Southwest said its pilots received an "engine-related maintenance indication" and followed established procedures. "The pilots followed established procedures and landed the aircraft uneventfully," the airline said. The aircraft, a 19-year-old Boeing 737-700 registered N281WN, was carrying 97 people, and no injuries were reported.
Air traffic audio reviewed by aviation outlets captured the crew reporting a failure of the aircraft's No. 2 engine less than a minute after liftoff, and controllers held the jet offshore while the crew worked through the problem before vectoring it north to Los Angeles, where fire trucks stood by. Southwest and the FAA have not confirmed what caused the engine problem, and the airline did not immediately provide details about the warning.
The flight had been scheduled to depart Santa Ana at 11:35 a.m. for the roughly one-hour trip to San Jose, and pushed back about 14 minutes late. Southwest said it would arrange another aircraft to carry the passengers on to San Jose.
