American Airlines jet 250-miles into trans-Atlantic flight is forced to make emergency landing in Boston due to crack in the 23-year-old Boeing 777’s windshield

American Airlines passengers were stuck in Boston after their flight to Spain was canceled overnight due to a cracked windshield in the cockpit.

Flight 94, a Boeing 777, took off from New York City’s JFK Airport at 7:28 p.m., less than about two hours into the trip, an Alert 2 emergency was declared, according to Massachusetts State Police.

The Federal Aviation Administration says an Alert 2 indicates that the flight is experiencing “major difficulties” or that a “difficult or emergency landing is expected.”

At the time, the plane was 250 miles off the coast of Massachusetts over the Atlantic Ocean. This is just the latest headache for beleaguered Boeing.

The AA flight landed at Logan International Airport without incident at 10:14 p.m. and reached the gate without assistance. In a statement, the airline said the diversion was due to a “maintenance issue.”

This illustrates how far the passengers had gone on their journey before the crew chose to turn back

The plane was immediately taken away by an American Airlines crew who began an inspection. Video posted from the airport showed hundreds of frustrated passengers queuing for hotel vouchers. They leave for Madrid at 8am on Thursday.

“The flight landed safely and the aircraft was removed from service for inspection by our maintenance team. Customers will depart again tomorrow for Madrid on a replacement aircraft. “We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused,” the carrier said in a statement.

‘Safety is always at the top of our list! Delays are never an easy decision, but sometimes they are necessary to ensure the safety of everyone on board,” American said in a separate statement on X.

On the same day as this incident, the FAA said it is giving Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to resolve quality issues and meet aircraft safety standards after a panel last month destroyed a brand new Boeing 737 Max- plane had been blown off.

The agency said the directive followed all-day Tuesday meetings with top Boeing officials at FAA headquarters in Washington.

“Boeing must commit to real and deep improvements,” said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker. “Making fundamental changes will require a sustained effort from Boeing’s leadership, and we will hold them accountable every step of the way.”

Boeing CEO David Calhoun said “we have a clear picture of what needs to be done” thanks to corporate and independent reviews. “Boeing will develop the comprehensive action plan with measurable criteria that demonstrate the profound change that Administrator Whitaker and the FAA are demanding.”

The FAA has not indicated what action it might take if Boeing doesn’t meet the 90-day deadline.

The FAA is currently completing an audit of the assembly lines at the plant near Seattle, where Boeing builds planes such as the Alaska Airlines 737 Max that suffered a blow in the door panel on January 5. Investigators say bolts holding the panel in place were missing. after repair work.

The incident has raised attention on Boeing to its highest level since two crashes of Boeing 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.

Whitaker toured the 737 factory two weeks ago. He met with FAA inspectors reviewing Boeing’s operations and spoke with Boeing engineers and mechanics about safety issues, the FAA said.

This week, a panel of experts from industry, government and academia released a report finding shortcomings in Boeing’s safety culture, which the company says it has been trying to improve.

Earlier this month, Boeing replaced the director who had overseen the 737 program since early 2021 and said it would step up inspections at the 737 factory in Renton, Washington.

Boeing Co. is located in Arlington, Virgin