Emergency landing at LAX ends safely

An American Airlines flight touched down safely at Los Angeles International Airport early Sunday morning despite an unplanned stop and concerns about possible mechanical issues that turned the trip into a nearly 11-hour ordeal.

The flight, which took off Saturday evening from Boston with 187 passengers aboard, had to make an unscheduled landing shortly in Louisville, Ky., for an ill passenger to receive medical attention, said Rhonda Rathje, a spokeswoman for American Airlines.

After the flight resumed, the pilot learned of a possible problem with the airplane’s landing gear, and alerted authorities, Rathje said. Firefighters were on scene at LAX in case of as a precaution, but the plane landed at about 2:30 a.m. without incident, authorities said.

The flight normally takes about five and a half hours.

-- Rick Rojas