An American Airlines Boeing 777-300 bound for Sydney, Australia returned to Los Angeles after losing cabin pressure over the Pacific on 23 October 2024.
American Airlines flight AA73, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, had departed Los Angeles international airport and was en route to Sydney.
American AA73 Los Angeles-Sydney
The flight had climbed to flight level FL280 (28,000 feet) when the flight crew reported losing cabin pressure. An emergency depressurised descent was then conducted to 8000 feet.
After levelling off at the reduced altitude, flight crew initiated a direct return to Los Angeles. The aircraft subsequently landed without further incident, just under three hours after its initial departure.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a brief report confirming the incident. “American Airlines Flight 73 returned safely to Los Angeles International Airport around 1:50 a.m. local time on Thursday, October 24. The crew reported a possible pressurization issue. The Boeing 777-300 was headed to Sydney, Australia. The FAA will investigate.”
The airline mustered a replacement aircraft to complete the scheduled service to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD).
Flight Details
Flight data shows that the flight AA73 and made a departure out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at 2301 local time on 24 October.
The flight had set because normally, climbing to the flight level FL280 on the outbound route to Sydney. The aircraft was approximately 400 nautical miles from Los Angeles when the pressurisation problem arose.
An emergency descent was then conducted to 8000 feet, and the aircraft returned to Los Angeles at that reduced altitude.
The aircraft conducting the AA73 service to Sydney was a Boeing 777-300ER, registered N725AN. This is an 11.3 year old wide-body aircraft belonging to the carrier American Airlines. It has been an operational service with the airline since its initial delivery from the factory in July 2013.
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