Philadelphia

Sick Passenger Causes Philly-Bound Flight From Munich to Make U-Turn, Land in England

An international flight bound for Philadelphia suddenly turned around before leaving Europe Wednesday morning so that an ill passenger could get medical treatment.

American Airlines Flight 717 took off from Munich, Germany shortly after noon (6 a.m. EST) bound for Philadelphia but it never made its way over the Atlantic Ocean as it made a sudden U-turn over the United Kingdom before landing in Manchester, England about 2 and half hours later.

Crews would do routine safety checks of the Airbus A330-200 before allowing it continue the trip toward America.

It is scheduled to take off from Manchester shortly after 3 p.m. local time and then arrive in Philadelphia, said American Airline spokesman Justin Franco.

The plane wound up actually taking off again around 3:30 p.m. and was expected to land in Philly around 6:20 p.m. EST.

American Airlines didn't reveal the nature of the medical emergency.

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