Delta declares emergency as Boeing aircraft lands in Atlanta
FILE PHOTO | Delta Air Lines is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
ATLANTA - The flight crew of a Delta flight from Savannah declared an emergency on Thursday morning due to a "flap disagree," according to a spokesperson for Delta Air Lines.
The Boeing 757-200 departed Savannah at 8:20 a.m. and safely landed in Atlanta at 9:35 a.m. The crew declared the emergency with ATC (Air Traffic Command) to ensure priority handling, and the flight proceeded to the gate routinely, arriving one minute ahead of schedule. No injuries were reported.
A flap disagree is an uncommon occurrence involving a misalignment of some of the flaps on an aircraft. Delta emphasized that such events are part of extensive flight crew training to manage safely.
Boeing airplanes have faced a series of highly-publicized incidents recently, including a door blowing out of a Boeing 737 Max on Jan. 5 while flying over Portland, Oregon.
On Jan. 18, one of the engines on a 747 cargo plane operated by Atlas Air failed during takeoff from Miami.
On Jan. 23, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 lost its nose tire while taxiing for takeoff in Atlanta.
A Boeing 777-200 operated by United Airlines lost a tire on takeoff on March 7, and a Boeing 787 operated by LATAM between Sydney, Australia, and Auckland, New Zealand, went into a nosedive on March 11.
On March 18, the windshield of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 cracked as it was landing in Portland, Oregon.
Additionally, on April 7, the engine cover on a Boeing 737-800 belonging to Southwest Airlines fell off after takeoff from Denver, Colorado.
Boeing is currently the focus of two Senate hearings examining allegations of deep-seated safety issues.
According to whistleblowers, the company has been accused of cutting corners, ignoring problems, and threatening employees who speak up.
A FAA report published in February found that many employees were unaware of how to report concerns or whom to report them to. It concluded that the company has not made sufficient strides in safety since the deadly 2018 and 2019 crashes that claimed 346 lives.
Boeing is also being investigated by the FAA, the Justice Department and the National Transportation Safety Board.
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In other news, WalletHub has released its annual ranking of U.S. airlines for 2024. Delta was ranked as the 4th best airline on the list, praised for its reliability, low rates of cancelations and delays, as well as comfort and snack offerings.