Two Planes with Potential Mechanical Problems Land at BWI: Official

Two Southwest planes reportedly experienced technical difficulties Monday evening and made impromptu landings at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI).

The two planes arrived in Baltimore at approximately the same time—around 5:45 p.m.—BWI spokesman Jonathan Dean told Patch.

"There were precautionary alerts for two arriving aircraft with potential mechanical problems," Dean said.

While it was admittedly unusual for two planes to have issues simultaneously, Dean noted the precautionary alerts were not necessarily indicative of emergencies.

One Southwest plane had just taken off for Boston when the pilot noticed the cockpit indication light was on and turned Flight 281 around so the aircraft could be examined by maintenance personnel, according to WJZ, which reported it landed and taxied safely on its own, flanked by emergency crews as a precaution.

It was determined that the plane's left engine had overheated, and the 140 people aboard were transferred to a separate plane, the TV station reported.

The Boston-bound flight was supposed to take off at 5:05 p.m. on Monday. Instead, it was delayed until 7:20 p.m., according to departure information provided by BWI.

That wasn't the only flight that had issues causing an unexpected landing at the Baltimore airport.

A Phoenix-bound flight that had originated in Philadelphia was grounded at BWI because of a "minor maintenance issue," prompting another plane switch, according to WBAL.

For both landings, Dean said that BWI fire and rescue crews were at the ready in the event of an emergency, and there were no injuries.

One runway was shut down briefly during the response, according to Dean, who reported: "There were no significant delays."