Shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, an emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner and pilots, feeling a vibration within the plane, returned to land safely at JFK Airport.
Delta said that after takeoff, pilots received a warning in regards to the emergency slide on the best side of the plane and heard an unusual noise coming from that area of the Boeing 767 jet, which it said was manufactured in 1990. The incident is the newest in a series of problems with Boeing-manufactured aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the crew reported a vibration.
According to the airline, the pilots declared an emergency so the flight might be quickly diverted back to the airport and the plane landed under its own power and taxied to a gate.
There were 176 passengers, two pilots and five flight attendants on board the flight, which was sure for Los Angeles. Delta said it put passengers on one other plane to California.
Delta said the plane has been faraway from service for evaluation and that it’s cooperating with investigators and supporting efforts to search out the slide.
“Because nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and employees, Delta flight crews have completed their extensive training and followed procedures for returning to JFK,” the airline said in a press release.