On Wednesday, November 6th, 2024, a 
Delta Air Lines Flight from the airline’s primary hub at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) to Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA) was forced to divert to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). The aircraft was diverted due to a foul odor being reported on the flight deck, according to the latest information from the airline.
The flight in question was Delta Air Lines Flight 850, a daily nonstop connection between the two airports that is typically operated by an Airbus A320-200 aircraft. The plane had 150 passengers and 6 crew members onboard when the incident occurred, according to The Aviation Herald.
The aircraft was, however, able to land safely, and all passengers were quickly transferred to new flights out of Raleigh-Durham Airport. No injuries were reported, and the incident remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has yet to determine the fumes’ cause.
A deeper look at exactly how it all went down yesterday
Yesterday, at exactly 3:45 PM, a Delta Air Lines Airbus A320-200 with registration N329NW departed from Atlanta Airport on time, set to arrive a few hours later at Reagan National at just about 5:30 PM. Approximately forty minutes into the flight, when the aircraft was cruising at around 31,000 feet at a speed of roughly 580 miles per hour, the pilots noticed the fumes in the cockpit and decided to perform an emergency landing.
Related
Delta Flight Returns To Fort Lauderdale Airport After Pilots Report Fumes In Flight Deck
The aircraft stopped its climb less than five minutes into the flight.
The aircraft was located about 40 nautical miles northwest of Raleigh-Durham Airport, making it an optimal location for a quick diversion. Just 25 minutes later, the aircraft touched down on the airport’s runway 23R at 5:01 PM, and the plane taxied for three minutes before connecting to the gate’s jetbridge at 5:04 PM local time, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
Upon landing in North Carolina, passengers would have the opportunity to connect to new flights or wait for a later service to Washington, according to reports from U.S.A. Today. However, the later flight to Washington did require passengers to wait a few hours at RDU, not arriving in Washington until 10:04 PM, more than four hours after their initially scheduled arrival time.
Safety is undoubtedly the primary priority in this circumstance
While a lengthy passenger delay is undoubtedly disappointing, the airline’s pilots followed protocol when deciding to perform an emergency landing. In a statement, a Delta Air Lines spokesperson had the following words to share:
“Safety is always our top priority, and we apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels.”
Photo: Miguel Lagoa | Shutterstock
This is not the first time in recent months that a Delta flight has been forced to divert due to fumes being reported in the cockpit. Just last week, Simple Flying reported that an aircraft returned to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) for similar reasons. Another incident also occurred on a JetBlue flight a few weeks earlier and a more concerning fume-related incident took place on a Delta Airbus A330-900neo flight that was forced to return to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) back in September.
