Air Canada Boeing 737-8 MAX Forced To Make Emergency Landing

An Air Canada Boeing 737-8 MAX was forced to make an emergency landing earlier this week after suffering an engine issue, an incident brought to light by Reuters News Service in a Christmas Day report – three days after it happened.

The MAX series of planes only returned to service earlier this month after being grounded for over a year-and-a-half following fatal crashes on two different airlines that killed 346 people. The aircraft flew its first flight with members of the public aboard three weeks ago when the media was invited to take a test trip between Dallas and Tulsa.

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The Air Canada 737-8 MAX was en route between Arizona and Montreal on Dec. 22 with no passengers and just three crew members on board when it suffered an engine issue that forced the crew to divert the aircraft to Tucson, Arizona, the Canadian carrier said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Shortly after the take-off, the pilots received an “engine indication” and “decided to shut down one engine,” an Air Canada spokesman said. “The aircraft then diverted to Tucson, where it landed normally and remains.”

Reuters noted that according to a Belgian aviation news website, the crew received a left engine hydraulic low pressure indication and declared a PAN-PAN emergency before diverting. A PAN-PAN is the international signal used by a ship or airplane to alert authorities that there is a situation on board that is urgent, but no immediate danger.

“Modern aircraft are designed to operate with one engine and our crews train for such operations,” the Air Canada statement added.

Boeing declined Reuters’ request for comment and referred the news outlet to Air Canada.