A Dreamliner Grounded in Spain
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by American Airlines was grounded in Spain on February 3, 2026, due to an incident that reportedly damaged its nose gear. The aircraft appears to have been ferried to Tulsa Airport (TUL), where American Airlines has a Tech Ops maintenance facility, according to FlightAware, which is one of the largest in the world.
After being grounded for over two weeks, the Dreamliner would have received some spare parts or taken interim maintenance measures to ensure it made the journey safely to TUL, where more extensive work is likely planned. No information has been publicly released by American Airlines, with only basic information about the case being revealed by Brooke In The Air Travel.
Dreamliner Down: The Madrid Incident
The aircraft grounded at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) for most of February is tail number N820AL. The aircraft was removed from commercial service and remained on the ground in Madrid for over a month while undergoing inspection and awaiting repairs. The jet is a ten-year-old example of Boeing’s smallest Dreamliner, the 787-8. It was delivered to American Airlines’ hub in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) in 2016, according to Planespotters.net data.
Just a few days ago, another American Dreamliner had an in-flight problem when a 787-9 was forced to turn around over Madrid’s airspace due to the opening of hostilities in Iran. Flight AA120 was bound for Doha, Qatar, when it made a U-turn in the sky and, instead of diverting to Madrid, made the 16-hour trek back to Philadelphia (PHL). The unfortunate detour earned it the moniker “Flight to Nowhere,” as PYOK News wrote following the event.
One passenger recounted to the Daily Mail the quiet way that they discovered their flight would not land at the destination they expected. Aaqil Mujiburrahman recalled:
“We had just crossed Spain somewhere along Casablanca, you could see the map, Casablanca was close. We made a turn in the Mediterranean Sea.”
Bad Luck Abounds For American Airlines
An American Airlines aircraft was also grounded in late February 2026 after routine inspections in Miami revealed bullet punctures in the wing and aileron following its flight from Medellín, Colombia. That aircraft was recently repositioned to DFW for major structural repairs, where American Airlines also has a major maintenance facility. Notably, the aircrew reported no in-flight issues before landing in Miami.
Authorities are still investigating, but local Colombian police suspect that the damage likely occurred during takeoff. The recent US military intervention in Venezuela has fomented greater tension and anti-American sentiment. This coincided with American increasing flights to the region, which raised the carrier’s public visibility, possibly painting a “target on its back.”
Yet another American Airlines aircraft suffered damage when a 737-800 suffered a tail strike during takeoff from Tampa Airport (TPA) in Florida. This jet was forced to divert to Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) following the mishap, but the turnaround time was quicker than that of other recent American airliners involved in accidents.
The jet was originally bound for Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA). The aircraft climbed to 26,000 feet before it began, according to the diversion reports. No passengers or crew were injured during the event, indicating that the jet was returned to service within 11 hours of the initial inspection.
787 Problems: Flashback To 2025
Last year, American Airlines had another notable incident with a Dreamliner when the 787-8 registered as N819An had an issue with the wing flaps after takeoff from Philadelphia. Flight AA203 was forced to dump fuel over the North Sea and performed a high-speed landing at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS). The mishap briefly went viral in the aviation community, part of a string of four diversions and cancellations that occurred within a 25-day window.
On January 8th, while attempting to reschedule the flight, a hydraulic issue was discovered during pre-flight, leading to a second cancellation. After returning to service, the same aircraft had its flight from Barcelona to Philadelphia canceled on the 14th. Just five days later, it diverted back to Barcelona only 11 minutes after takeoff. This highly unusual run of misfortune or in the aircraft, the nickname “Unlucky.”
