flight was forced to return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
on Monday morning after passengers and crew noticed a strange “haze” in the plane shortly after takeoff, according to FOX5 Atlanta. Flight DL876, a Boeing 717
, carries 94 passengers, three flight attendants, and two pilots.
Emergency declared
Flight Aware data shows that the plane pushed back at 8:29 local time for Columbia, South Carolina, and took off at 8:48. About 35 minutes after leaving the gate, smoke-like conditions appeared in the cabin, leading the flight crew to declare an emergency in order to get priority handling from air traffic control, according to Delta.
In a statement to Simple Flying, a Delta spokesperson said:
The flight crew followed procedures to return to Atlanta when a haze inside the aircraft was observed after departure. Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, and we apologize to our customers for the experience.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace I Simple Flying
Passengers evacuate via emergency slides
Video footage taken by onboard passengers showed the passenger cabin filling with what appeared to be smoke. The pilots immediately contacted air traffic control to request priority handling for an emergency return to Atlanta. The aircraft landed safely at 9:00. Officials from Atlanta Fire Rescue were on the scene to assist passengers and crew members in disembarking from the aircraft, according to a Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport official who talked to CNN. Two of those passengers were treated by EMTs and released, FOX5 Atlanta reported.
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Slides were deployed after the aircraft landed on Runway 27 for egress, Delta confirmed. The video showed passengers using emergency slides and exits above the wings to depart the aircraft after the plane safely landed.
People started screaming, ‘smoke, smoke, smoke’
Passenger Kristin Morris told CNN that the haze began to fill the plane five to 10 minutes after taking off from Atlanta. “A few of us passengers started to question why or what was going on. People started screaming ‘smoke, smoke, smoke,'” Morris said. “We were in the air for about 20 minutes, and it seemed to take a while before we landed.”
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Morris said that once the plane was evacuated, everyone was placed in a conference room while Delta attempted to figure out the source of the haze. According to Morris, the passengers were let go without additional information provided. After the evacuation, passengers were transported to a terminal facility where Delta representatives worked to rebook them on alternative flights to their destinations.
A passenger shared the experience on Reddit, describing the situation as “very stressful and scary.”
“I was unable to see past a few seats the smoke was so bad,” the passenger wrote. “They [flight attendants] went on the speaker 2 or 3 times to tell us they were still trying to reach the captain.“
“Flight attendants had us deboard and stand on the end of the plane wing for 5ish minutes before getting back on the plane to then slide down the front/back end of the plane.”
Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying
Airport officials said that the incident had a moderate impact on operations at the busy Atlanta hub, according to NBC News.
FAA launches investigation
The Federal Aviation Administration
has launched an investigation into the incident. In a statement, the FAA
said:
“Delta Air Lines Flight 876 returned safely to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport around 9 a.m. local time on Monday, February 24, after the crew reported possible smoke in the flightdeck. The Boeing 717-200 was headed to Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina. The FAA will investigate. Please contact the airline for additional information.”
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How Did Delta Air Lines Become The World’s Largest Carrier By Revenue?
The carrier has been operating for 100 years.
The Boeing 717-200
aircraft involved, registered as N942AT, is 25.8 years old. It is configured with 12 first class and 98 economy seats, according to the record on planespotters.net. Currently, Delta has 62 B717-200 aircraft in service and 18 aircraft parked.
Two days ago, a Delta flight headed for Sydney was forced to return to Los Angeles International Airport after smoke was detected in the galley.
