American Airlines plane loses part of its wing in mid-flight turbulence

An American Airlines plane flying from South Carolina to Texas lost part of its right wing Tuesday night after hitting severe turbulence over Alabama.

The winglet of the right wing of the American Eagle Embraer Flight 3729 fell off somewhere around Birmingham during "moderate to severe turbulence" while in flight, according to a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report.

#aa #youlostyourwing we lost a part of our wing #aa3729 pic.twitter.com/jPa8gwmo9A

— Aaron Davenport (@DavenportAaron) May 4, 2022

Winglets are the upward-curving extensions of an aircraft's wings that help reduce tip drag and increase fuel efficiency while providing pilots with cruising range.

No one was injured on the flight, which was safely diverted to Birmingham International Airport, Alabama.

The flight landed without incident at BHM shortly after 6:45 p.m. (local time) and taxied to the gate under its own power," American Airlines spokesman Derek Walls confirmed in an email. "Upon arrival, our maintenance team took the aircraft out of service for evaluation. All passengers were transferred to another aircraft, which departed BHM for DFW last night."

The aircraft had four crew members and 71 passengers on board.
American Airlines did not confirm the status of the aircraft on Wednesday, but it is known that the plane has not departed Birmingham Airport since the incident, according to FlightRadar24.

Images shared on social media show a special crew working on the American Eagle aircraft with what appears to be a significant section of the right wing broken off.

I was on the flight! Surprisingly smooth flight and landing after the fact. pic.twitter.com/6I01TDTifz

— Brandon Owen (@Brandon0wen) May 4, 2022

Map and altitude data from Flightradar24.com show that the Embraer 175 was flying at 36,000 feet and approximately 450 mph when it quickly veered off its flight path southwest of Birmingham.