CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - An American Airlines airplane took off in Charlotte before it turned around over the Atlantic Ocean and returned on Wednesday evening.

The airline said Flight 720 took off from Charlotte Douglas International Airport en route to Rome, Italy.

data showed the plane took off just before 8 p.m. on Aug. 13, and was back on the ground around 9:45 p.m.

In the nearly two hours the airplane was up, flight-tracking data showed it flew roughly 100 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach before it turned around and came back to Charlotte. The airplane landed safely and was able to taxi to a gate under its own power.

American Airlines said the Boeing 777-200 was brought back to Charlotte Douglas due to “a possible mechanical issue,” although the exact problem was not specifie

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