An American Airlines flight from Texas to North Carolina was diverted Sunday afternoon after an oven fire was reported on board.
Flight 885 diverted to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston because of the “mechanical issue on board,” caused by the oven in the forward galley, the airline said in a statement.
No one was injured in the incident aboard the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
The flight had taken off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport just before 2 p.m. local time and arrived in Houston just after 3 p.m., according to FlightAware data.
“The aircraft landed safely and without incident, and taxied to the gate under its own power. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and appreciate our team members for their professionalism,” American Airlines said.
A maintenance team in Houston evaluated the aircraft after it landed.
Airport operations and the Houston Fire Department also responded to the aircraft for a report of a fire in an oven in the aircraft’s galley, according to the Houston Airport System.
“After approximately 30 minutes, the alert was terminated, and the aircraft was declared fire-safe,” an airport system spokesperson said.
Customers departed Houston just before 11 p.m. local time and landed in Charlotte shortly before 2 a.m. local time.
Boeing, an airplane manufacturing giant, has been the center of scrutiny recently after the door plug of a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane operated by Alaska Airlines blew out in midair on Jan. 5, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to ground the model operating in U.S. territory.
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines inspections of 737 Max 9 planes in the wake of the Jan. 5 accident found some aircraft with door plugs that contained bolts that were not tightened to specified torque levels.
CORRECTION (Jan. 22, 2024, 9:46 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article and a headline misstated the model of the plane that was diverted. It was a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, not a Boeing 747-800.