On February 10th, what was supposed to be a routinely scheduled flight turned into quite the nightmare for passengers onboard a Delta Air Lines flight after the aircraft they were in appeared to have caught fire just mere minutes after departure. While it was fortunate that the incidental aircraft diverted safely to Glasgow Prestwick Airport, this was certainly a flight that none of the passengers would forget.
Originally headed for New York
The incidental flight in question was Delta Air Lines Flight DL 209, a five-times-weekly scheduled flight between Edinburgh Airport and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. Delta Air Lines typically deploys its Boeing 767-300ERs for this highly-popular route, and operating on the day of the incident was a 25-year-old widebody registered N197DN.
Before operating as DL 209, the aircraft was actively flying every day on routes such as Atlanta-Bogota, Atlanta-Orlando, Atlanta-Miami, and Atlanta-Quito, to name some. These prior flights were performed uneventfully. However, DL 209 proved different after taking off from Edinburgh Airport at approximately 11:03.
About 10 minutes after the regular departure, passengers noticed that the aircraft's right engine was experiencing a fire alongside a leaking streak of an unknown substance. Footage taken by the passengers shows a bright orange flame gushing out from the right wing, with frantic crying and panicked speaking in the background.
Get all the latest aviation news right here on Simple Flying!
Safely diverted to Glasgow
Not captured in the footage was one of the flight crew walking up and down between the aircraft cockpit and cabin, presumably to analyze the situation's seriousness. After that, passengers recounted the flight crew announcing from the flight deck that they were being re-routed to Glasgow Prestwick Airport.
While the initial climb after departure was filled with loud noises from the aircraft and the passengers, the descent to Glasgow was quite the opposite. Passengers noticed that nearly all noise was gone, and there was an eerie silence in the aircraft cabin, presumably because the flight crew would have turned the right engine off and also because all the in-flight entertainment was cut.
The nightmare ordeal was finally over for the scared passengers as DL 209 landed safely at Glasgow Prestwick Airport at approximately 11:31 and was greeted by fire and medical services. For a flight that generally lasts over seven hours, the incidental flight was in the air for less than half an hour. Commenting on the incident, Delta Air Lines said:
"Delta flight 209 from Edinburgh to New York-JFK safely diverted to Prestwick, Glasgow, after a mechanical issue with the aircraft. We apologize to our customers for this inconvenience and are working on getting them to their final destination as quickly as possible.”
Post-flight messiness
At this time of writing, it seems N197DN will not be leaving Glasgow Prestwick Airport anytime soon, especially since significant repair and possibly even replacement works on the engine are expected. And although there were no reported injuries and everyone was safe thanks to the flight crew's professionalism, some passengers found themselves in a frantic mess that saw them stranded at Glasgow.
According to some passengers, there has been a lack of proper communication about what Delta Air Lines would provide or do for them in this situation. While the SkyTeam member provided emergency accommodation, passengers say they received no updates about when they could fly back to New York or what could be done about their missed connecting flights.
While the post-flight situation seems messy, hopefully, the passengers will be able to head back to New York soon. And as for N197DN, the aircraft is likely to be back flying through the skies after its maintenance works. We'll just have to wait and see.
Source: Daily Record