EKO HOT BLOG reports that tragedy was averted on the night of Friday, 5th of August when a Delta Airline that took off for Lagos, Nigeria had to be diverted by the pilot back to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta US,
Delta Air Flight no 54 was reported to have diverted back because of a fault on the Airplane that disrupted it from hitting the right altitude mid-flight, Nairametrics reports.
The pilots then took the decision to return from where it departed after informing tensed passengers.
Records of the flight being diverted were captured by the flight tracking website, Flight Aware detailing the trajectory of the flight over. gruelling two and a half hour period for its passengers.
The flight is an Airbus A330-200 (twin-jet) and departed at about 9.29 pm EDT. The flight had been delayed for about 2 hours before departure.
According to passengers on the plane who spoke to Nairametrics on the condition of anonymity, the plane struggled to gain altitude an hour after departure forcing the pilot to return to Hartsfield-Jackson airport.
The data from Flightware shows the plane departed at about 9.29 pm US time and gained an altitude of about 33,000 FT before it diverted en route back to the airport, landing at about 12.22 am.
Passengers were lodged in a hotel and refunded their full fare plus accommodation for about two days before they boarded another flight.
One of the passengers who spoke to Nairametrics narrated the condition of the plane after the pilot announced they were making a U-turn because of the faulty plane.
“There was a bedlam of prayers and worship going on in the plane” he stated. He also revealed that the decision to return to Atlanta was that of the Pilot, who considered his kids when making the decision.
“We were relieved when we landed so I engaged the pilot who told me he was not going to take a risk even when the tower the final decision to him. Especially as he has young kids.
For some of the passengers, the decision of the pilot to consider safety first was enough to comfort the inconvenience of having to wait two days for another flight.
Delta Air took charge of the passengers when they returned as the passengers confirmed they were “professional” in how the situation was handled.
All Delta flights to and from Lagos have arrived successfully since then.
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