Frightened passengers were forced to evacuate a Delta Air Lines flight at Atlanta airport today after smoke filled the cabin.
All 99 people aboard, including 94 passengers and five crew members, had to flee the aircraft using emergency slides.
The incident occurred aboard Flight 876, a Boeing 717-200 aircraft, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday.
The drama unfolded when the flight, bound for Columbia, South Carolina, reported smoke shortly after takeoff and had to make an emergency return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The incident occurred aboard Flight 876, a Boeing 717-200 aircraft, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday
11Alive
The aircraft landed safely at around 9am local time after crew members declared an emergency to get priority handling from air traffic control.
Dramatic images showed passengers standing on the left wing of the aircraft clutching their belongings as they evacuated.
An emergency was declared to receive priority handling from air traffic control for the aircraft's return.
The Federal Aviation Administration said: "Delta Air Lines Flight 876 returned safely to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport around 9am local time on Monday, February 24, after the crew reported possible smoke in the flightdeck."
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A Delta spokesperson 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 apologise to our customers for the experience," the spokesperson added.
Delta said teams transported customers back to the terminal via ground transportation.
The airline is now working to rebook affected passengers onto other flights.
Ninety-four passengers and crew were forced to evacuate a Delta Air Lines flight using emergency slides after smoke was reported in the flight deck at Atlanta airport11AliveAn airport spokesperson told ABC, the incident had a "moderate impact to operations".
The emergency landing and evacuation comes just days after another Delta incident at Toronto Pearson Airport, where a flight from Minneapolis crashed and flipped on an icy runway.
Panicked passengers had to crawl along the ceiling to escape the aircraft.
