An American Eagle Embraer E175 was forced to declare a fuel emergency on Tuesday afternoon after severe thunderstorms forced three consecutive go-arounds at two Kentucky airports. Flight AA3927, operated by Envoy Air under the American Eagle brand, was scheduled to fly from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Blue Grass Airport (LEX) in Lexington.

The aircraft aborted its approach to LEX due to adverse conditions and diverted to Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) instead. However, stormy weather was also present by the time the E175 reached Louisville, resulting in two consecutive missed approaches on two different runways. The regional jet then declared an emergency following its third go-around with roughly 30 minutes of fuel remaining, eventually landing at Evansville Regional Airport (EVV) in Indiana.

American Eagle Flight Aborts 3 Consecutive Approaches

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According to flight tracking data, AA3927 departed DFW at 2:09 PM ahead of a scheduled two-hour flight to Lexington, Kentucky. However, as the 76-seater regional jet lined up for LEX’s Runway 22, weather conditions had deteriorated and the flight crew called off the approach at an altitude of around 2,200 feet. Rather than enter a holding pattern, the pilots opted to divert to the designated alternate airport in Louisville, located around 70 miles away.

However, conditions on approach to Louisville were not any more favorable, with the aircraft reaching an altitude of below 600 feet on final approach to SDF’s Runway 35R before another go-around was initiated. A second attempt to land at Louisville followed on the parallel Runway 35L, but it was called off at around 1,500 feet. Simple Flying contacted American Airlines for comment on this incident, but a representative could not be reached before publication.

Fuel Emergency Declared

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With the E175 now in the air for approximately two hours and 40 minutes, it was flying for more than 30% beyond its planned duration. With fuel running low, the flight crew squawked the code 7700 to indicate a general emergency before being instructed by air traffic control to land in Evansville, located around 100 miles away.

By this point, the regional jet was reportedly down to just 30 minutes of fuel. One of the pilots asked the controller to keep the runway in Evansville free as “we have no fuel for a go-around.” Fortunately, they did not encounter any more complications, landing safely on EVV’s Runway 22 around three hours after departure.

According to a report from NTD, the Federal Aviation Administration has said it is opening an investigation into the incident. Commercial flights never depart with only the fuel needed to reach their destination: instead, extra fuel is carried in the event of extended holding patterns or air traffic delays, to ensure there is enough to reach an alternate airport. A jet’s final reserve will usually consist of around 45 minutes’ worth of fuel on US domestic flights.

The Aircraft Refueled & Returned To Lexington

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Passengers on American Airlines flight AA3927 were not left waiting in Evansville for long. Tracking data shows that the E175 operated a 30-minute flight from Evansville to Lexington shortly afterwards, then performed the scheduled return service to Dallas with a delay of just over three hours.

The return leg departed Lexington at 8:47 PM against its scheduled 5:44 PM departure. The aircraft involved, registered N285NN, is operated by Envoy Air, the largest of American’s three wholly owned regional subsidiaries. Envoy’s E175s can seat up to 76 passengers across three cabins, with 12 first class seats, 20 in Main Cabin Extra and 44 in the main cabin.

Evansville is served by other American Eagle flights, which meant that ground handling and refueling capability were already in place at the airport. The disruption occurred during a wider spell of adverse weather conditions across the eastern half of the US on Tuesday, with delays also reported at major hubs, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles.