It was like any other flight back to paradise.
That was, until the public announcement system got passengers’ attention, and the sound of the captain’s voice sent more than 100 passengers aboard American Airlines Flight AA1089 into shock.
It was a shock that would take their collective breaths away for the next 80 minutes.
Scores of Barbadians endured an emergency landing at Miami International Airport just before 1 p.m. yesterday, when AA1089, destined to land at Grantley Adams International Airport just before 3 p.m., developed a hydraulics problem in mid-flight.
The plane turned around, and safely landed back at Miami, where fire trucks and medical personnel were in place hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst.
“American Airlines Flight 1089 from Miami to Barbados, a Boeing 757 with 161 passengers and a crew of six, departed at 9:55 a.m. and returned at 12:39 p.m. due to a mechanical issue,” the airline’s corporate communications officer for the Caribbean and Latin America, Laura Masvidal, told the DAILY NATION yesterday.
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