American Airlines flight returns to Vegas airport due to mechanical issue, videos show bursts of flames shooting out of engine
An American Airlines plane. Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
(LAS VEGAS) — An American Airlines flight returned safely to Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport shortly after takeoff due to a “mechanical issue” on Wednesday morning, the airline said.
The Federal Aviation Administration described it as an “engine issue.” While American Airlines said there was “no evidence of fire in the engine,” videos obtained by ABC News showed short bursts of flames shooting out of an engine.
Matthew Villasista was at the Las Vegas National Golf Club when he saw what appeared to be smoke coming from the plane.
“We could hear lots of booming noises, almost like a boombox. It sort of stopped us in our tracks to hear the noises,” he told ABC News.
Mark Jackson was in a parking lot when he said he heard what sounded like “large fireworks.”
“When we looked up and saw what was really happening, I was shocked and super sad thinking about how scared everyone on board must be,” Jackson told ABC News. “Those brave pilots working under some heavy pressure. It just looked like it was dropping rapidly.”
American Airlines Flight 1665 — an Airbus A321 — was heading to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, the FAA said. Passengers deplaned normally in Las Vegas, American said.
The plane “is being taken out of service to be evaluated by our maintenance team,” American said.
“We appreciate the professionalism of our crew and thank our team who are working to get our customers to their destinations as quickly as possible,” the airline added.
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Homeland Security and FBI are warning that large-scale events are prime targets for violence, highlighting the potential for violence at events this summer.
However, the DHS and FBI did not indicate there are any known threats in a joint intelligence bulletin sent to law enforcement on May 23.
“Violent extremist messaging continues to highlight major sporting and cultural events and venues as potential targets, and threat actors — including domestic violent extremists (DVEs), homegrown violent extremists (HVEs) inspired by Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), and other mass casualty attackers not motivated by an ideology — previously have targeted public events with little to no warning,” according to the bulletin.
Some attacks, such as the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans, could serve as inspiration for future attacks, the bulletin said, noting that calls for violence typically increase in the days leading up to holidays or big events.
Domestic and homegrown extremists “not primarily motivated by an ideology, likely will see public events as potential attack targets, given the number of high-profile events this summer that are expected to draw large crowds and recent attacks and plots in the West targeting mass gatherings, which could serve as inspiration,” the bulletin said.
“We advise government officials and private sector security partners to remain vigilant of potential threats to upcoming public celebrations and large gatherings,” it added, highlighting World Pride 2025, Independence Day and the 250th Army anniversary parade as possible targets.
The bulletin also said some attackers could use a variety of means to carry out an attack.
“Attackers in the United States historically have used a variety of tactics to target public events, including vehicles, firearms, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs),” it said. “The use of vehicle-ramming alone or in conjunction with other tactics, such as edged weapons, firearms, or IEDs used after the vehicle has stopped, is a recurring tactic that a variety of threat actors in the West have employed when targeting crowded pedestrian areas.”
Last week’s shooting that targeted Israeli Embassy staffers and killed two in Washington, D.C., could inspire other attacks in the United States, the DHS said in a separate bulletin obtained by ABC News.
“The 21 May attack that killed two Israeli embassy staff members at an event in Washington, DC, underscores how the Israel-HAMAS conflict continues to inspire violence and could spur radicalization or mobilization to violence against targets perceived as supporting Israel,” according to the bulletin, which was also dated May 23.
The department noted that it has seen online users sharing the suspect’s alleged writings and “praising the shooter and generally calling for more violence.”
“If calls for violence continue, particularly if other violent extremists in the Homeland or abroad reference the Capital Jewish Museum shooter, our concern for additional violence in the Homeland would increase,” the bulletin said.
The suspect in the fatal shooting last Wednesday outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., is a 31-year-old Chicago man who police say shouted “free, free Palestine” following the attack.
The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, was promptly taken into custody at the scene of the shooting and was questioned by police, according to Pamela Smith, chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.
(PEORIA, Ariz) — A mother in Arizona has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after driving her pickup truck through “a park full of kids” and running over a 12-year-old girl, officials said.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced earlier this week that 31-year-old Brandie Gotch was handed the 10 year sentence which stemmed from an incident that took place in February 2024 when her children “were fighting with each other at Westgreen Park in Peoria,” according to a statement from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, and that “other kids at the park were egging them on and recording the altercation.”
“As this was happening, Gotch arrived at the park to pick up her kids. While walking them back to her truck, a boy on the playground called her a name,” officials said. Gotch went over to him and started pulling him by his hair. A second boy called her a name, and she chased him around the park with a stick. Gotch then got into her truck with her kids. The second boy stood behind the truck, dancing and mocking her. He eventually moved away to stand by his sister.”
It is then that authorities say Gotch backed out of the parking space and revved her engine before driving directly at the boy and his sister.
“He was able to jump out of the way, but his sister’s leg was run over,” officials said. “Gotch kept driving through the park where more than a dozen other children were at the time, including some who had to run to get out of the truck’s path.”
Gotch immediately drove away from the park but was arrested at home a short time later, officials said. “This could have been a much more tragic situation; thankfully the worst injury in this was a sprained ankle and some bad scrapes and bruises,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “Even when angry or frustrated, it’s up to adults to act like adults. It is never okay to take to take our rage out on a kid.”
Gotch pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault — a class two dangerous felony — will now serve 10 years in prison, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
(STONE COUNTY, Ark.) — The manhunt continues for Grant Hardin, the escaped former Arkansas police chief serving a 30-year sentence for murder and rape, as officials enter their fourth day of search efforts.
Grant Hardin, 56, who has been in prison since 2017 for first-degree murder and rape, escaped the Calico Rock North Central Unit on Sunday at approximately 2:50 p.m., the Stone County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Hardin escaped custody through a sally port by impersonating a corrections officer “in dress and manner,” which caused another corrections officer “operating a secure gate to open the gate and allow Hardin to walk away from the North Central Unit,” according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News.
Surveillance footage shows Hardin pulling a cart, which was found abandoned outside the gates of the prison.
Hardin remains at large on Wednesday.
Officials said citizens in Izard County and surrounding counties should “stay vigilant, lock your house and vehicle doors and report any suspicious activity by calling 911 immediately,” according to the Izard County Sheriff’s Office.
The U.S. Marshals and Eastern Arkansas Fugitive Task Force are also assisting in the search efforts, a spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals said on Tuesday.
“I am very scared that this guy is going to hurt or kill somebody before this is over with,” Stone County Sheriff Brandon Long told ABC News.
Hardin, who was the former police chief of Gateway, Arkansas, worked in the prison kitchen, according to a spokesperson from the department of corrections, but it is unclear whether this job involved any access to the sally port he used to escape. He has had no significant disciplinary issues during his time at the prison, and there is no reason to believe anyone aided him in this escape, officials said.
Nathan Smith, the former Benton County prosecutor who helped put Hardin behind bars, told Arkansas ABC affiliate KHBS the escaped inmate is “a sociopath.”
“He has no moral core or center that would prevent him from doing anything,” Smith told KHBS.
Hardin is “considered to be extremely dangerous and should not be approached,” officials said.
Authorities are using helicopters, drones, K9 officers and ATVs in their search for Hardin. Rugged terrain, densely wooded areas, hills and days of rain have been “hindering the ongoing search,” a spokesperson with the department of corrections said. Deputies are continuing to monitor the roadways near the prison and are conducting security checkpoints in the area, officials said.
Hardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 59-year-old James Appleton, according to The Associated Press.
He was also convicted of the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers, Arkansas, a crime highlighted in the 2023 television documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”
Cheryl Tillman, the mayor of Gateway, Arkansas, and Appleton’s sister, told KHBS that Hardin is “an evil man” and said his escape is “almost like déjà vu all over again.”
Hardin is described as 6 feet tall and weighing 259 pounds.
Authorities said anyone with information regarding his whereabouts should contact local law enforcement immediately.
