'A nightmare you can't believe': Holiday ordeal of passengers on Miami to LA flight that took 20 hours to get there

  • American Airlines flight from Miami to LA was supposed to take five hours  
  • But the plane had to land in Lubbock, Texas, after an engine failure 
  • Furious passengers complained of a 14-hour wait on the tarmac there  
  • New plane eventually took off - but had to turn back east to refuel in Dallas
  • The 186 passengers finally landed at LAX at 2.15am on Christmas Eve - 19-and-a-half hours after taking off in Miami 

Passengers on a flight that took almost 20 hours to get from Miami to Los Angeles have described their 'nightmare' ordeal.

American Airlines flight 295 was supposed to take five hours to cross the country east to west but had to make two unscheduled stops, infuriating the 186 Christmas travelers on board the plane.

The cabin filled with smoke, passengers said, after one of the Airbus A321's engines failed, forcing the crew to land at Lubbock Preston Smith Airport in Texas.

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Passengers (seen collecting luggage at LAX) on an American Airlines flight that took almost 20 hours to get from Miami to Los Angeles have described their 'nightmare' ordeal

Passengers (seen collecting luggage at LAX) on an American Airlines flight that took almost 20 hours to get from Miami to Los Angeles have described their 'nightmare' ordeal

Passengers complained of being held on the tarmac at Lubbock Airport in Texas for 14 hours as they waited for the plane to take off after its first of two unscheduled stops

Passengers complained of being held on the tarmac at Lubbock Airport in Texas for 14 hours as they waited for the plane to take off after its first of two unscheduled stops

The passengers - many of whom were flying home for Christmas - and their luggage were loaded on to another plane.

But travelers then complained that they were stuck on the tarmac at Lubbock for more than 14 hours and were not allowed off the plane.

Treva Finkle, who was on board, tweeted during the ordeal to ask the FAA if she was being held illegally.

She wrote: 'How long can an airline hold you on the tarmac before it is illegal? We have been stuck on @AmericanAir flight 295 for over 12 hrs.'

She later added: '@AmericanAir thank you for ruining Christmas and stranding us in this horrible nightmare for over 14 hours now.' 

The plane eventually took off but crew then announced they would have to stop off at Dallas to refuel - meaning they would have to go back east before turning around and heading towards the west coast.

Traveler Evelyn Albert said American Airlines should have given passengers more information

Traveler Evelyn Albert said American Airlines should have given passengers more information

'Nightmare': Passenger Tom Danluck said his ordeal on the 20-hour flight was unbelievable

'Nightmare': Passenger Tom Danluck said his ordeal on the 20-hour flight was unbelievable

After picking up more fuel at Dallas Fort Worth, the plane eventually made its way to Los Angeles, landing at LAX at 2.15am PST on Christmas Eve - 19-and-a-half hours after taking off from Miami.

'It was a nightmare that you can't believe,' passenger Tom Danluck told KTLA.

Traveler Evelyn Albert said: 'There was a noise and then we were told later that one of the engines went out and they had to land in Texas.

'We weren’t given any information. I think that was part of the problem.' 

American Airlines spokeswoman Leslie Scott told the news station that the plane - which was also carrying six crew - landed in Lubbock because of a mechanical issue.

She added that investigators were still working out the cause of the fault.

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