NEW YORK- Delta Air Lines (DL) flight from New York (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR) returned to its origin after declaring an Emergency on September 12 due to fumes detected in the cockpit.
The Airbus A330-900neo departed at 22:33, deviating from its scheduled 22:05 takeoff.
Delta Flight Emergency Landing at JFK
Shortly after departure, pilots requested an intermediate altitude of 25,000 feet instead of the planned 37,000 feet. Initially, they informed Air Traffic Control (ATC) of an unspecified issue without requesting assistance.
Minutes later, the crew notified ATC of a potential return to New York JFK. The decision to turn back was confirmed when pilots reported smelling fumes in the cabin, Simple Flying reported.
ATC recordings from the YouTube channel You can see ATC captured the pilot’s communication: “Yes ma’am, at this time we need to return to Kennedy. If you can start working with us with vectors to go back to Kennedy. And the reason is … we have smell in the cabin of possible fumes.”
ATC provided directions for the aircraft’s return and inquired if the crew was declaring an emergency. After a brief pause, the pilots confirmed the emergency status.
Flight Cancelled
Delta flight DL3 returned to New York JFK with 293 passengers and crew, carrying 8.5 hours of fuel. The excess fuel necessitated a heavy landing. Both pilots donned oxygen masks during the return flight and requested medical assistance for a passenger upon arrival.
The Airbus A330-900neo, registered N404DX, landed safely without reported injuries. Delta Air Lines has been contacted for comment.
The Flightradar24 data shows the aircraft resumed its flights on September 14, operating a New York to Seattle flight DL9936. Planespotters.net indicates the A330 is five years old.
Inflight fire risks prompt immediate pilot action, prioritizing rapid landings at the first sign of trouble.
Also Read: Delta A330 Collides with Virgin A350 in Atlanta, But Still Flown to their Destinations
Similar Incidents
A similar incident occurred in August when another Delta flight from Boston (BOS) to Paris (CDG) operated using A330neo returned to BOS due to an unusual cabin odor.
British Airways (BA) flight BA854 executed an emergency landing at London Heathrow on January 21, 2024, after cockpit fume leakage forced it to abort its journey to Prague (PRG). The aircraft departed Heathrow at 7:25 am but returned within an hour due to the safety concern.
This incident echoes a similar emergency in April 2024 involving a Lufthansa (LH) Airbus A350. The Lufthansa flight made an unscheduled landing at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) after smoke was detected in the galley. While the crew’s quick response ensured a safe landing, the flight to Montreal (YUL) was subsequently canceled.
While more recently, an Alaska Airlines (AS) flight diverted to Honolulu (HNL) after four flight attendants fell ill due to an unidentified odor onboard. The Seattle (SEA)-bound aircraft from Lihue, Kauai (LIH) made an emergency landing, prompting immediate medical attention for the affected crew members.
Paramedics treated the four flight attendants upon landing in Honolulu before transporting them to a local hospital for further evaluation. Alaska Airlines confirmed that the incident did not affect any of the 119 passengers or other crew members on the flight.
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