Delta plane evacuation: Passengers forced to flee on slides after ‘smoke filled cabin’ at Atlanta airport
TERRIFIED Delta Air Lines passengers had to evacuate a plane by emergency slide during a scary landing at an airport in Atlanta.
The Boeing 717-200 was going to Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina when smoke suddenly filled the plane cabin.
5
5
5
The Delta flight was en route from Atlanta to South Carolina when it had to turn around.
When it landed, all 94 passengers, two pilots, and three flight attendants were forced to escape the aircraft using the emergency exit slides.
Shocking photos showed passengers standing on the left wing of the plane clutching their belongings as they tried to get to safety.
The Federal Aviation Administration said, “Delta Air Lines Flight 876 returned safely to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport around 9 am local time on Monday, February 24, after the crew reported possible smoke in the flight deck.”
read more news
Crew members reported the smoke shortly after takeoff, with an emergency declared to get priority handling from air traffic control.
A Delta spokesperson told The Sun: “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.”
Footage showed passengers using their clothes to cover their faces as the terrifying haze filled the cabin.
The airline said teams brought customers to the terminal via ground transportation and were working to get them rebooked on other flights.
The incident had a “moderate impact to operations,” an air spokesperson told ABC News.
Travelers are on high alert when it comes to flying after a series of concerning plane crashes and mishaps.
Just over a week ago, a Delta plane from Minneapolis crashed and flipped before erupting into flames at Toronto Pearson Airport.
PLANE PANIC IN TORONTO
Panicked passengers were forced to crawl along the ceiling after the jet slammed into the icy runway in the near-disaster.
No one was killed as smoke surrounded the jet in the aftermath of the terrifying scene.
A passenger named John Nelson shared a video from the scary scene on Facebook on Monday.
“We just landed,” he said in a video showing the aircraft upside down.
“Our plane crashed, it’s upside down. The fire department is on site.
“Most people appear to be OK. We’re all getting off, [there’s] some smoke going on.”
Fellow passenger Peter Koukov told CNN they were “upside down hanging like bats” in the horror crash.
The fire department was shown spraying fire retardant on the plane.
“Several customers with injuries were transported to area hospitals. Our primary focus is taking care of those impacted,” Delta said in a statement to The U.S. Sun.
The airline confirmed the Toronto airport, YYZ, was closed “shortly after the incident occurred.”
“Delta is working to connect with customers traveling from, to or through YYZ who should also monitor the status of their flight via the Fly Delta app.”
DISTURBING TREND
More mid-air panic came this weekend when a flight that took off from JFK Airport in New York City had to make a U-turn.
It was on the way to New Delhi, India, but was grounded in Rome due to a “possible security issue” that turned out to be a bomb threat.
The emergency onboard the American Airlines flight was eventually found to be a false alarm.
Italian law enforcement checked and cleared the aircraft to re-depart, according to American Airlines.
Recent ‘cluster’ of plane crashes
A number of recent plane crashes in the US have left Americans terrified of traveling by air.
However, aviation expert and attorney Jason Matzus told The U.S. Sun the crashes can be attributed to “random clustering.”
“While these events are tragic, the likely explanation is simply ‘random clustering,’ which occurs when multiple crashes occur over a short period, warping our general perception and causing us to think that there is an increasing trend in plane crashes,” Matzus said.
“When in reality these crashes, despite being so close together, are merely coincidental and not caused by a systemic safety issue.”
The short period Matzus is referring to is just a matter of three weeks. The recent aviation mishaps include:
January 29 – A military helicopter and American Airlines plane collided at the Washington DC airport and killed 67 people
January 31 – An air ambulance carrying a six-year-old girl and her mom crashed onto a street in Philadelphia, killing seven people in total
February 5 – A Japan Airlines flight hit a parked Delta plane at Seattle SeaTac Airport and no one was injured
February 6 – A small commuter plane on its way to Nome, Alaska, crashed and killed all 10 people on board
February 10 – Motley Crue singer Vince Neil’s private jet collided into another plane, killing the pilot and injuring four others
February 17 – A Delta plane crashed onto the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport, miraculously killing no one but injuring 21
February 19 – Two planes collided at Marana Airport in Arizona, killing two people
5
5
