A Boeing 737 Max aircraft made an emergency landing in Orlando, Fla.
The incident is said to have happened around 2:30 p.m. at Orlando International Airport and involved a Southwest plane, according to early dispatches. There were reportedly no passengers on board the aircraft when it made its emergency landing because of an unspecified malfunction.
Orlando TV station WFTV said that the troubled 737 had safely returned to the airport and was docked at Gate 122.
The plane is part of the Boeing fleet that saw the airline's Max 8 and Max 9 planes grounded throughout most of the world following two disasters in five months, including the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines flight that killed 157 people en route to Kenya. On March 29, a Lion Air 737 plunged into the Java Sea, taking with it 189 passengers' lives.
A statement from the FAA addressed the issue: "The crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 8701, a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, declared an emergency after the aircraft experienced a reported engine problem while departing from Orlando international Airport in Florida about 2:50 p.m. today. The aircraft returned and landed safely in Orlando. No passengers were aboard the aircraft, which was being ferried to Victorville, Calif. for storage. The FAA is investigating."
