ATLANTA — A Delta flight was forced to return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday morning after smoke filled the cabin shortly after takeoff.
According to Delta, 94 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants were on board Delta Flight 876 bound for Columbia, South Carolina. After an emergency landing, everyone safely made it off the plane using slides.
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11Alive spoke with passenger, Kristin Morris, who was traveling with her family from Atlanta — back home to South Carolina.
“Got on a plane to Atlanta at 8:30, and we sat on the runway for about 15-20 minutes. I was asking why we were sitting there. Nobody said nothing. No sooner than we took off, the plane was filled with smoke,” Morris recalled.
Morris took a video of the smoky scene on board the flight. She described the smell as “like gas or burning wires.”
“People were on the plane saying smoke, smoke, smoke, yelling. I guess the flight attendant got on the mic and was like, ‘Guys, we’re aware it’s smoking, we’re trying to get in touch with the pilot;” Morris said.
Morris said they were told they were going to make an emergency landing, and when they landed, they evacuated the plane.
“We stood outside for about 20 minutes. The fire trucks and ambulance came out there. But no one would tell us anything,” Morris said.
On Monday evening, 11Alive obtained the audio between the pilots and the tower during the incident. In the audio recording, you can hear one of the pilots saying, “There is smoke in the cabin and need to plan a return back.” The pilots also requested fire trucks and emergency vehicles to assist.
Aviation expert Alan Armstrong said the pilots were right to conduct an emergency landing with so many moving parts. It was best to do it sooner rather than later, Armstrong said.
“It’s not discretionary. It’s mandatory. If you’re not sure your airplane is airworthy, you need to put it on the ground reasonably soon,” Armstrong added.
Delta says the cause of the smoke is still under investigation. A spokesperson for Delta said it would tend to customer needs for rebooking and other transportation.