Plane’s emergency exit slide falls off mid-air

Delta Air Lines Flight 520 lost an emergency exit slide about an hour into its journey (Picture: Getty Images)

The emergency exit slide of a Delta Air Lines plane fell off as it was in the air and forced it to return to the airport it departed from.

Delta Air Lines Flight 520 departed John F Kennedy International Airport in New York on Friday morning and was about an hour into its journey to Los Angeles when the Boeing 767-300ER aircraft lost its right-wing emergency slide, officials said.

Flight crew got an alert of an issue with the right-wing slide and heard a weird sound coming from that section, Delta officials told WFLA.

The plane ‘returned safely’ to the airport in Queens around 8.35am ‘after the crew reported a vibration’, stated the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The Delta Air Lines plane returned to John F Kennedy International Airport in New York (Picture: Getty Images)

Flight crew contacted air traffic control to make an emergency landing. The aircraft had 138 people aboard and once at the gate, passengers deplaned. No one was injured.

‘Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people,’ stated Delta.

‘Delta flight crews enacted their extensive training and followed procedures to return to JFK. We appreciate their professionalism and our customers’ patience for the delay in their travels.’ 

Customers were placed on another flight to their original destination in California.

The plane has been taken out of service and will be ‘thoroughly’ evaluated, according to Delta.

Delta is ‘supporting retrieval efforts’ for the slide.

It was not immediately known what caused the slide to detach, or where it landed.

When asked by Metro.co.uk to comment, Boeing deferred to the airline.

FAA records show that the aircraft is 33 years old. The incident is being investigated by the agency.

It happened three days after a Lufthansa Airlines Boeing 747-8i bounced twice on a Los Angeles International Airport runway while trying to land before taking off again. It circled around and landed without issue on its second attempt.

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