Airbus A321 of American Airlines Damaged When Tug Hydroplanes

At one of the airline's primary hubs, Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), an American Airlines Airbus A321ceo had significant damage to both its underbelly and its nose landing gear due to a tug event. Since April 21, 2024, the claimed aircraft has not been in operation.

The American Airlines Airbus A321ceo, purportedly registered as N136AN, was reportedly engaged in an incident with a tug at CLT, based on images posted on X, the original name of Twitter. The aircraft's nose landing gear and underside of the fuselage both had significant damage, as seen in the photos.

Since completing its third trip of the day on April 21 at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), N136AN has not been in flight, according to data from Flightradar24. At 14:37 local time, the aircraft touched down at CLT (UTC -4).

Records from the flight-tracking website showed that N174US, N927UW, and N153UW, among other Airbus A321, had also been grounded at CLT for several days. The three, however, lack the Airbus wingtip barriers seen on the A321 implicated in the incident, but the A321 in question has Sharklets.

American Airlines aircraft have experienced many tug or pushback-related mishaps in the last few years, one of which occurred at New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA). In August 2022, a Boeing 737-800, registered N949NN, struck a tug during its push from the hangar to the gate, trapping the latter beneath the aircraft.

The 737-800's final flight was on April 24, however the aircraft is still in use by American Airlines. It operated at least three routes on that day: DFW to El Paso International Airport (ELP) and Liberia Guanacaste International Airport (LIR), Costa Rica; it also returned to DFW from these itineraries. On April 25, it is expected to return to DFW.

Meanwhile, on February 10, 2023, at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), a another Airbus A321, registered as N193UW, collided with a bus. Likewise, the fuselage and nose structure of the A321 sustained significant damage. The aircraft is presently being repaired at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), according to data from ch-aviation.