Six people injured after US plane makes ‘hard landing’ at airport

One passenger and five members of cabin crew were taken to hospital after an American Airlines flight made a “hard landing” at an airport in Hawaii.

All six were in stable condition and subsequently released from medical care. The aircraft taxied to the gate as usual, and the rest of the 167 passengers and two remaining crew members disembarked normally.

Flight 271 had landed at Kahului airport, on the island of Maui, at around 2pm local time on 27 January, having taken off earlier that day from Los Angeles. Maui police department said that officers responded to a call at the airport at around 2.21pm.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is understood to be investigating the incident, and that the plane has been removed from service while inspections take place.

In a statement to The Independent, American Airlines said that the aircraft “experienced an issue upon landing. The aircraft taxied to the gate under its own power and customers deplaned normally.

“The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority.”

According to the airport in Maui, the flight was due to arrive at 12.47pm, more than an hour before it actually touched down in Hawaii. The plane taxied at LAX for more than an hour before leaving the ground, reports NBC News.

The incident comes at a turbulent time for US airlines, with the grounding of 737 Max 9 aircraft following a high-profile event at the start of the year in which the door plug of an Alaska Airlines plane blew out shortly after taking off.

The aircraft returned to service between 26 January to 28 January after the FAA approved an inspection process.

In unrelated incidents, on 18 January an American Airlines plane slid off the runway shortly after landing in snowy conditions at Rochester airport in New York. A few days later, a flight between Texas and North Carolina was diverted to Houston after reports of a fire onboard.