LONDON- In an incident at London Gatwick Airport (LGW) on Monday morning, an emergency slide on a Boeing 767 belonging to Delta Air Lines (DL) was inadvertently activated atop a catering truck.
This mishap, potentially bearing significant financial repercussions, took place subsequent to the aircraft’s arrival from New York JFK under flight designation DL62.
Delta Flight Emergency Slide
The circumstances surrounding the unintentional activation of the emergency slide remain unclear, given that standard procedures for disarming the door upon arrival in London should have prevented such an eventuality.
Typically, during catering, the door is operated externally once the catering truck aligns with it. Despite this, Delta avoided canceling the return flight, albeit departing with a delay of nearly three hours.
While Delta refrained from providing an official statement regarding the incident, a spokesperson confirmed that no injuries or damage to the aircraft were reported.
It is noteworthy that last September, another Boeing 767 operated by Delta experienced what the industry refers to as an ‘inadvertent slide deployment’ shortly after landing at Dublin Airport (DUB).
Replacing an emergency slide, including parts, maintenance, and associated delays, is estimated to incur costs of at least $35,000. However, this expense can significantly escalate for wide-body aircraft like the Boeing 767.
Accidental Emergency Slide
Delta has confirmed that the emergency slide on the front right-hand side door was activated inadvertently during the disarming process.
The Boeing 767’s doors have a distinctive feature, opening upwards into the aircraft’s interior. The mechanism for arming the slide is situated very close to the handle used to open the door, which also moves upward.
Earlier, on June 10, an incident occurred where an emergency slide inflated accidentally inside a Delta Boeing 767 as the crew prepared to arm the doors for departure.
As a result of this incident, a flight attendant sustained injury from the inflatable slide hitting them in the head. The crew member was subsequently transported to the hospital, although reports indicate that the injuries were not severe and were discharged on the same day.
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