A Delta Air Lines flight returned to Atlanta on Monday morning shortly after takeoff when the crew reported “possible smoke” in the aircraft, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, just two days after another Delta flight was diverted due to smoke on the plane.
Flight 876 took off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 8:30 a.m. and was headed to South Carolina’s Columbia Metropolitan Airport before the report was made, per FlightAware.com. The plane was only in the air for about 35 minutes before it landed back in Atlanta at 9:04 a.m.
In a statement, Delta Air Lines said the flight crew “followed procedures to return to Atlanta when a haze inside the aircraft was observed after departure.”
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, and we apologize to our customers for the experience,” the airline said in the statement.
Video uploaded to social media by a passenger on the flight showed what appears to be smoke in the cabin. Passengers could be seen covering their mouths and noses to protect themselves from the haze.
The flight declared an emergency in order to get “priority handling” from air traffic control, according to Delta. There were 94 passengers onboard the Boeing 717 aircraft, as well as two pilots and three flight attendants.
Slides were deployed following landing, according to Delta, and Atlanta Fire Rescue assisted in the deplaning of all onboard, a spokesperson for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport said.
Another video uploaded to TikTok showed the moments following the evacuation, with the passengers standing on the sidelines of the runway.
There was a moderate impact to airport operations as a result of the plane’s return, according to the spokesperson. The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate the incident.
This marks the second smoke-related issue to impact a Delta flight within a week.
Just two days ago, an Australia-bound Delta flight returned to Los Angeles International Airport “after smoke was detected in the galley.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating this incident.
Nicole Duarte and Nollaig O’Connor contributed.
