American Airlines flight diverted to Las Vegas, passengers evacuated

It’s unclear why an American Airlines flight diverted to Las Vegas deployed slides and evacuated passengers McCarran International Airport on Sunday evening, an airline spokeswoman said.

American Eagle flight 6017 departed from Houston for Los Angeles but was diverted to McCarran because Los Angeles International Airport was on a ground stop due to weather, airport spokeswoman Christine Crews said.

Crews said the plane was on a landing pad when the slides deployed. Four crew members and 58 passengers evacuated the plane and were taken to the airport in shuttle buses.

American Airlines spokeswoman Lynda Brock said it was unclear why the plane was evacuated, but the company was working with Compass Airlines, which operates American Eagle flights, to determine what happened.

Brock said the airline will rebook the passengers for flights to Los Angeles.

Contact Max Michor at mmichor@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @MaxMichor on Twitter.