A Delta Air Lines flight to London Heathrow Airport returned to Boston Logan International Airport on Thursday, Sept. 24, night shortly after takeoff. A crew member onboard noticed an odour on the aircraft.
What happened?
Delta Flight 58 was 2575 feet in the air when the pilots made a U-turn, declared an emergency with air traffic control and diverted the aircraft back to Boston, according to a Delta spokesperson.
According to Flightradar24, an airline flight tracker, the aircraft (an Airbus A330-941) took off at around 7 p.m. local time and was in the air for under an hour before making the emergency turn.
There have been no confirmations of what the odour smelled like, what had caused it or whether any passengers or crew members onboard experienced any concerning symptoms.
Delta Air Lines’ response
The Delta spokesperson said:
“Delta pilots followed procedures to return to Boston when an odour was detected on the aircraft after departure. The safety of our customers and people is always top of mind for our flight crews. We thank our customers for their understanding and apologise for the delay in their travels.”
The aircraft landed safely back at Logan with 280 passengers onboard. Delta said it has started inspections on the aircraft to find the origin of the odour and is working to provide customers with other travel arrangements.
What are your thoughts on what could have caused the odour? Let us know in the comments.
