Delta Flight Loses Engine

Image: PHOTO: Delta pilots were forced to shut down one of the plane's engines before landing in Knoxville, Tennessee. (photo via Flickr/Bill Abbott)
Image: PHOTO: Delta pilots were forced to shut down one of the plane's engines before landing in Knoxville, Tennessee. (photo via Flickr/Bill Abbott)
Patrick Clarke
by Patrick Clarke
Last updated: 5:35 PM ET, Mon October 23, 2017

Passengers described a frightening experience aboard a Delta Air Lines flight that was forced to make an emergency landing in Knoxville, Tennessee due to engine trouble over the weekend.

According to FOX 8 News, the flight was traveling from Atlanta to Cleveland Sunday morning when the engine issues began.

"When I saw the stewardesses looking at emergency manuals, I knew it was pretty serious," passenger Greg Mosko told the news outlet.

Passenger Joe Rexrode told the Knoxville News Sentinel that the trouble began about 15 to 20 minutes into the flight and that the cabin began to smell like burning oil.

"Basically, there was this awful sound, you could just tell that the right engine was out," Rexrode said. "It was just screeching and the plane rumbled really heavily and you just knew it was gone. That was followed by the smell. "

Rexrode thanked God and credited the flight crew for the safe landing.

Delta Air Lines spokesperson Anthony Black confirmed the flight touched down in Knoxville around 9:20 a.m. local time Sunday after the crew received a system notification that one of the engines was experiencing trouble. He said the pilots shut the engine down before landing.

McGhee Tyson Airport spokesperson Caitlin Barraf told the News Sentinel that the airport's Public Safety crew met the flight to assist passengers and crew. No injuries were reported.

Delta brought in another plane to take the 139 passengers to Cleveland. The flight arrived at its destination about three hours behind schedule.

[READMORE]READ MORE: Don't Throw Coins into Airliner Engines for Good Luck[/READMORE]

Sunday's incident comes one month after a Los Angeles-bound Air France flight was diverted to Eastern Canada after one of its engines exploded mid-flight. Earlier this month, Frontier Airlines passengers described the "flight from hell" after strong wind gusts at takeoff prompted violent shaking and at least two medical emergencies.


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Patrick Clarke

Patrick Clarke

Senior Editor

A Maryland native and wanderer who has lived across the U.S. from North Carolina to SoCal, Patrick Clarke graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in journalism. He previously worked for Bleacher

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