Terrified passengers were forced to evacuate after smoke filled the cabin of a jet in the US. The Boeing 717-200 was headed to Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina on Monday. Delta Air Lines Flight 876 landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport around 9am.
All 94 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants on board were forced to flee the aircraft using the emergency exit slides. Shocking images shows holidaymakers standing on the left wing of the plane, desperately holding onto their belongings as smoke fills the cabin.
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 flightdeck.”. “The flight crew followed procedures to return to Atlanta when a haze inside the aircraft was observed after departure,” a Delta spokesman added.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, and we apologise to our customers for the experience.”. Passengers used clothing to cover their faces, according to video shared with US media. The airline said teams brought customers to the terminal via ground transportation and they are working to rebook passengers on other flights.
An airport spokesman told ABC News the incident had a “moderate impact to operations”. The incident comes days after Delta offered to pay passengers $30,000 (£23,766) as a gesture of goodwill when a plane from Minneapolis crashed and flipped before erupting into flames at Toronto Pearson Airport.
