Passengers aboard a Delta Air Lines flight experienced a tense moment Monday morning when their plane was forced to return to Atlanta due to a strange haze inside
the cabin. The flight, which was bound for Columbia, South Carolina, made an emergency landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, NBC News reported.
Delta Flight 876 departed Atlanta at 8:30 a.m., but shortly after takeoff, crew members detected what they described as "possible smoke" in the cockpit. Meanwhile, passengers reported a haze filling the cabin.
The pilots then opted to turn the aircraft around and return to Atlanta, having spent less than 35 minutes in the air. The Boeing 717, carrying 94 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants, touched down safely at 9:04 a.m.
Citing an onboard emergency, pilots were able to obtain “priority handling” from air traffic controllers, Delta said. However, there was only a moderate impact on airport operations, according to a spokesperson for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Airport.
After landing, the plane’s emergency slides were deployed and Atlanta Fire Rescue assisted passengers in evacuating the aircraft, the airport’s spokesperson confirmed.
Video footage shared on social media captured the scene inside the plane, with passengers covering their noses and mouths as haze filled the air. A separate video posted on TikTok showed travelers standing on the tarmac following the evacuation.
In a statement, Delta Air Lines said the flight crew "followed procedures to return to Atlanta when a haze inside the aircraft was observed after departure." It added, "Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, and we apologize
to our customers for the experience."
Bizarrely, this incident constitutes the second time in a week that a Delta flight has faced smoke-related issues. Just two days earlier, a Los Angeles-to-Sydney flight had to return to Los Angeles International Airport after smoke was detected in the
galley.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will be launching an investigation into the event.
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