A Southwest Airlines jet bound for Dallas Love Field made an emergency landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Monday night after the pilot was alerted to a possible issue with one of the plane's flaps, the Dallas-based airline confirmed.
Flight 1118 from Nashville landed safely on the longest available runway at D/FW Airport and was met by emergency vehicles, per airport protocol, a Southwest spokeswoman said.
The unusual landing came after a cockpit instrument indicated one of the flaps might not have fully extended, officials said. The captain chose to use the longer runway at nearby D/FW because safety protocol required a higher speed at touchdown, the spokeswoman explained.
"We worked quickly to accommodate the 103 customers destined for Dallas so they wouldn't be further delayed by a check of the aircraft by our maintenance teams," the spokeswoman wrote in an email to NBC DFW. "We've already reached out by email with an explanation of the safety reasons behind the precautionary move in the name of safety and offered a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience."
Passengers who didn't leave on their own from D/FW Airport were bused to Love Field.
The incident comes a day after Southwest passengers flying from Florida to Maryland said a pickup truck hit their plane as it was pulling into its gate in Baltimore. No injuries were reported.
