When a commercial flight takes off from a given airport, there are certain things that you can expect to take place. The emergency slide staying in place on the plane is close to the top of the list. If you’re on a flight and the slide is deployed, that’s when you know something bad has happened — as opposed to, say, a sign that you’ve reached 10,000 feet.
Unfortunately for Delta, that’s not what happened after one of its flights departed John F. Kennedy International Airport. Unfortunately for Boeing, the flight in question was on a Boeing 767 — adding one more entry to the list of mechanical troubles its planes have experienced in recent months. A slide detaching is nowhere near as bad as a hole tearing open in the cabin, to be sure, but it’s not great.
NPR’s C Mandler has more details on the fateful flight, including news that authorities are still searching for the slide. The FAA reported that the flight opted to return to the JFK after “the crew reported a vibration.” The agency is now investigating the incident.
One passenger told NPR that they heard a loud sound from within the cabin — presumably, the slide coming loose — and that they felt “overwhelmed” as a result. The flight began its return to JFK an hour or so after takeoff.
Boeing Woes Continue as Engine Cover Rips Off Southwest Plane
The incident happened during takeoff in Denver, forcing the flight to turn aroundEarlier this month, another Boeing jet encountered a different instance of something falling off that really shouldn’t fall off — in this case, an engine cover. The company is in the midst of a signficant change to its leadership — but even so, it may be a while before we hear the last of these engineering issues.
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