MILWAUKEE — A Boeing 737-700 twin-jet was forced to return to Milwaukee Mitchell Airport shortly after taking off Tuesday morning, but officials report no major issues with the plane and no injuries.
The aircraft belonged to Southwest Airlines, and a spokesperson for the company tells TMJ4 that the incident was not an "emergency landing" nor did anything on the aircraft catch fire. An emergency landing is declared when "a specific ‘thing’ that happens or doesn’t with regard to an aircraft’s communication with air traffic controllers, and that wasn’t the case with this short flight. No emergency declared," according to an email.
The spokesperson explained the captain of Flight 1859 to Baltimore, Maryland decided to return to Milwaukee shortly after takeoff from Milwaukee. That allowed mechanics to review the plane.
The plane landed as it normally does and taxied to the gate. The 138 passengers on board and their luggage were brought to another plane ready to take off at Mitchell.
FlightAware showsthe plane later arrived in Baltimore.
"We apologize for the inconvenience of the longer-than-planned journey and we’ll work with any of the Customers whose onward travel would require our assistance in the wake of the delay, but certainly underscore that Safety remains our steadfast priority," according to the Southwest spokesperson.
