2 passengers treated after Delta flight forced to return to Atlanta airport due to 'haze'

ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines has faced a series of unsettling incidents recently, including smoke or haze in the cabin on two flights and a separate crash that injured more than 20 people.

Photos courtesy of Kevin McKinney

What we know:

Delta Flight 876 was forced to return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday morning because of "haze" inside the aircraft.

According to Delta, the flight crew followed procedures, declared an emergency for priority handling from air traffic control, and returned to Atlanta after the haze was observed.

Upon landing on Runway 27, emergency slides were deployed for egress.

The Boeing 717, which departed Atlanta for Columbia, South Carolina, at approximately 8:30 a.m., was carrying 94 customers, two pilots, and three flight attendants. Two of those passengers were treated by EMTs and released.

Delta teams arranged ground transportation and rebooking for passengers. A continuation flight to Columbia was carried out on another aircraft.

According to the registry information for the aircraft involved, the Boeing 717 was declared airworthy on Sept. 16, 1999.

What they're saying:

"You heard just about the entire plane, you know, yelling, the cabins filling with smoke because no one was doing anything," said Kevin McKinney, a passenger on the flight. "No one was coming over the intercom saying anything at first."

"Pilot came on, and announced, ‘Evacuate the plane immediately,' and it was chaos," McKinney remembered.

"I’ve never had to evacuate a plane before, it seems like this is something that's becoming more of an issue lately," McKinney continued. "You know, maybe some of these older planes need to be retired and, get some new wings in the air."

Despite his experience, McKinney told FOX 5 Atlanta he would be willing to fly again.

 "Statistics [show] that you're still safer in the air than you are driving. So, it's not going to deter me that much," he said.

The backstory:

There have been two other recent incidents involving Delta flights. 

On Saturday night, Delta Flight DL43 departed Los Angeles bound for Sydney, Australia.

RELATED: Delta flight diverted back to LAX after smoke detected in galley

Smoke was detected in the galley of the Airbus A350-900, forcing the flight to return to the airport. The aircraft landed safely and proceeded to an arrival gate. There were 162 passengers on the flight. 

Additionally, a Delta flight operated by Endeavor Air crashed and landed upside down at Toronto Pearson Airport last week after departing from Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.

RELATED: Delta releases new information about captain, first officer flying plane that crashed in Toronto

No fatalities were reported, but more than 20 people were injured, including three critically injured passengers.

What they're saying:

A Delta spokesperson explained the actions taken on Monday morning's Flight 876:

"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 apologize to our customers for the experience."

They also confirmed their teams are remaining in contact with the impacted passengers.

The FAA sent the following to FOX 5 Atlanta:

Delta Air Lines Flight 876 returned safely to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport around 9 a.m. local time on Monday, February 24, after the crew reported possible smoke in the flightdeck. The Boeing 717-200 was headed to Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina. The FAA will investigate.

Why you should care:

These incidents have raised fresh concerns about safety protocols as Delta Air Lines works to address the challenges and ensure the well-being of its passengers amid these recent events.