A Delta Air Lines plane with 94 passengers onboard made an emergency landing at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport (ATL) and was evacuated onto the runway via emergency slides after the cabin filled with smoke shortly after takeoff on Monday.
Flight DL876, with service from Atlanta to Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), took off at around 9:00 am on February 24, but within minutes of being airborne, both the cockpit and cabin had filled with a thick grey smoke.
The pilots quickly donned their emergency oxygen masks and declared an emergency, requesting a priority return to Atlanta, where emergency services were waiting for the 25-year-old Boeing 717 on arrival.
Dramatic video taken from inside the cabin by one of the passengers showed a remarkably calm scene as the plane stopped its climb at just 2,000 feet and headed back toward Atlanta Hartsfield.
The plane was back on the ground just 10 minutes after takeoff, where it came to a stop on runway 27L. The emergency slides were then activated, and passengers were evacuated onto the tarmac before being transported to the terminal building.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Delta Air Lines said of the incident: “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.”
Along with the 94 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants were onboard the aircraft. The airline did not say whether anyone was injured in the evacuation.
Just 10 days prior to this incident, another Delta Air Lines Boeing 717 (registration: N985AT) had been involved in a so-called ‘fume event’ when the cockpit filled with a hazy smoke shortly after takeoff from Atlanta Hartsfield on February 14.
On that occasion, the plane also made a priority return to the airport, but an evacuation was not required.
