190 passengers onboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Richmond to Atlanta were evacuated via emergency slides onto the tarmac on Wednesday afternoon after a tire blowout shortly after landing caused a small fire in the main landing gear.
Delta Air flight DL1437 landed at around 5 pm on runway 9L at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport but stopped short after the left tire in the main landing gear blew.
The blowout caused lots of smoke and a small fire which prompted the flight crew to declare an emergency and order an evacuation of the 31-year-old Boeing 757 via the emergency slides. One of the passengers sustained a minor injury in the evacuation.
The airport fire services responded to the incident and were able to quickly extinguish the fire.
In a statement, a Delta spokesperson praised the efforts of its pilots and flight attendants in managing the incident.
“We appreciate the efforts of our flight crew and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport first responders to manage through the safe landing of flight 1437 at our hub this afternoon,” the statement read.
“Initial reports indicate that one of the aircraft’s tires blew upon landing and components of the landing gear were hot. Customers evacuated via emergency slides and are being moved to the terminal via bus.”
“We apologize to each for this experience – nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and crew,” the statement concluded.
The FAA is investigating the incident.
Delta just not being Delta lately
Who knew Richmond got 757 level service
Richmond sometimes has 3 Delta 757s sitting overnight… it’s 757s all day long to ATL. 7 of them today in fact. It’s amazing the volume… Norfolk, Baltimore, Raleigh all are on the 757 diet.
So apparently this 757 in question had the anti-skid on MEL, which meant only allowed to operate in dry conditions, which it was. Pilots suspected to be a little to heavy on the wheel brakes, and there you go. Kinda like turning off your ABS in your car and slamming on the brakes.