( CNN ) -- Those aboard an American Airlines airplane from London got to see a little more of America than they expected Friday , after their flight was diverted to Tulsa , Oklahoma , due to engine trouble . Flight 79 took off from Heathrow Airport at 3 p.m. ( 10 a.m . ET ) , destined for Dallas , Texas , according to American Airlines ' website . The Boeing 777-200 airliner made it over the United States , but not to its final destination . It was diverted to Tulsa due to an issue with the plane 's left engine , American Airlines spokeswoman Laura Masvidal told CNN . She did not specify what the issue was . Its flight crew declared an emergency before landing at Tulsa 's airport shortly after 6:30 p.m. CT ( 7:30 p.m . ET ) . One problem -- besides whatever happened to the left engine -- is that Tulsa 's airport does n't have U.S. Customs and Border Protection workers on hand to handle incoming international travelers . That means the aircraft 's 230 passengers and 14 crew members have to wait on the airport 's tarmac , according to Masvidal . The aircraft that will take them to Dallas was set to leave that Texas city around 9:15 p.m. for Tulsa . According to American 's website , it should have Flight 79 's passengers and presumably crew on board when it departs Oklahoma at 10 p.m . If all goes according to plan -- this time around -- this aircraft should arrive at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport a few minutes after 11 p.m. local time . For those keeping score at home , that amounts to 14 hours after Flight 79 's passengers first took off from London . CNN 's Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report .
American Airlines Flight 79 took off from London , destined for Dallas . Spokeswoman : Its crew declared an emergency due to a left engine issue . The 777 had to sit on the tarmac because Tulsa did n't have Customs agents . It was delayed by about 3 hours and eventually landed in Houston at around 9 pm local time.