Moment emergency air slide deploys inside Delta flight
Moment emergency air slide deploys inside Delta flight bound for Los Angeles after it made emergency landing in Salt Lake City
- A Delta flight from NYC to LA was diverted to Salt Lake City due to a mechanical issue
- After the issue was fixed and passengers were back on the plane, one of the rear emergency slides was deployed by accident
- Passengers were once again forced to deplane and wait until they could be booked on another flight to their final destination
Passengers aboard a Delta flight to Los Angeles suffered a double-whammy on their flight Saturday when the aircraft was first required to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City, and then the plane’s emergency slide was accidentally deployed.
Delta flight 520 from New York to Los Angeles was diverted to Salt Lake City due to a maintenance issue, according to a Delta spokesperson.
The pilot said the 26-year-old plane’s backup system’s temperature instrument wasn’t working – the instrument is needed for icing conditions.
Once on the ground, all of the plane’s 168 passengers were forced to deplane while the issue was fixed.
However, once the passengers were back on the plane, the emergency slide at the back of the vessel was accidentally deployed, striking a crew member in the head. The slide was reportedly deployed by mistake by the plane’s catering crew.
An image of the emergency slide after it was accidentally deployed. One passenger said it looked as though the plane had collapsed in on itself
Shocked and confused passengers were once again made to de-board the plane.
One of the passengers on board the plane described the slide as ‘exploding’ inside the vehicle, while another explained that the air slide suddenly inflated after crew members armed the rear door.
As it grew, it forced a panel out of the door, striking the crew member ‘like an airbag.’
The crew member was taken to the hospital and later discharged.
One passenger aboard the cursed flight, Fiona Kane, told ABC7 that the entire incident was ‘super chaotic and they (the crew) didn’t really tell us what happened.’
‘I had no idea that it was the slide that deployed. It looked like the plane just completely collapsed.’
‘All the passengers were like in a state of fear and confusion and the flight attendants didn’t really know what was going on either,’ she said.
A Delta flight headed to Los Angeles was forced to land in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday, where its emergency slide suddenly deployed and hit a crew member in the head
The flight’s catering crew somehow accidentally deployed its inflatable slide — which promptly hit an unnamed crew member in the head. An inflatable slide is seen here being deployed in a plane in 2003
In a statement, a Delta spokesman said: ‘Delta flight 520, operating from New York-JFK to Los Angeles diverted to Salt Lake City due to a maintenance issue.
‘While on the ground, the same aircraft’s slide was deployed by accident.
‘In an effort to get our customers to their final destination as quickly and safely as possible, they have been re-accommodated on a new aircraft.
‘We apologize for the delay to their traveling plans. Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people.’
Passengers were all eventually booked on another plane to Los Angeles.
Passengers were given 7,500 miles in credit by the airline.
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