Passengers on a Delta Air Lines jet that had just arrived in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were evacuated from the aircraft via emergency slides after the pilots spotted smoke coming out of the ground electrical power at the nose of the airplane.
Monday night’s Delta flight DL604 was operated by a one-year-old Airbus A321neo, which had just flown six and a half hours from Cancun and had parked at the gate as normal when the evacuation call was suddenly made.
Once the pilots spotted smoke coming from underneath the plane, they decided “out of an abundance of caution” to evacuate the 189 passengers onboard off the airplane as quickly as possible.
Some of the passengers were able to deplane via the jetty that had already been attached to the front left-hand door of the aircraft, but an evacuation was also ordered via emergency slides.
The two rear emergency doors were opened, along with the so-called self-help overwing exits, allowing passengers to clamber onto the wings and jump the short distance to the tarmac below.
An airport spokesperson said that sparks had been seen coming from the connection of the ground electrical power, and eyewitness video of the incident appeared to show black charring on the nose of the aircraft, although the current investigation is focused on the ground power equipment and not the airplane.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Delta told us: “During deplaning Monday evening, the crew of Flight 604 from Cancun to Seattle witnessed smoke in the aircraft nose area after plugging into ground electrical power.”
“Out of an abundance of caution, slides were deployed and passengers still on board deplaned via the rear of the aircraft. Passengers were fully evacuated, and those deplaned to the ramp have returned to the terminal via the ramp stairs.”
The statement continued: “All passengers have exited to customs in the International Arrivals Facility for regular processing. The aircraft has been removed from service for inspection and maintenance.”
Main photo for illustration only.
