Passengers evacuate Delta flight on slides after aborted takeoff in snowy Atlanta
By Andy Rose, David Williams and Sara Smart, CNN
(CNN) — A Delta Air Lines jet with more than 200 people on board was evacuated on the tarmac at the Atlanta airport Friday morning after an engine issue prompted an aborted takeoff, leaving four people injured, airline and airport officials said.
A photo from passenger Curtis James showed slides deployed as people walked away from the Boeing 757 on the tarmac of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on an unusual snowy morning.
“On takeoff, something went wrong and engine caught fire,” James told CNN. “Had to emergency evacuate the plane.”
Airline and airport officials did not immediately say whether the engine problem was because of a fire.
“Delta’s flight crew followed established procedures to suspend the takeoff of flight 2668 from Atlanta (ATL) to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) after an indication of an engine issue,” Delta said in a statement.
The aircraft aborted takeoff at 9:10 a.m., according to the airport. “Four passengers are reporting minor injuries; one was transported, the remaining three were treated on scene,” according to a statement from the airport.
Flight tracking data shows that the aircraft was traveling at a speed of about 100 miles per hour when the pilots aborted.
FlightRadar24 shows the plane coming to a stop about halfway down the runway.
Passenger in Atlanta: ‘This is crazy’
Passenger Allison Wade shot video during the evacuation.
“There’s smoke still billowing out of there,” Wade says as she shows the Delta plane sitting on the tarmac.
“This is crazy, so now we’re all standing out here, in Atlanta,” Wade says in the video as passengers gather on the tarmac. “We’re standing out here in the snow.”
The Federal Aviation Administration cited a “reported engine issue” and said the agency will investigate the incident.
The National Transportation Safety Board told CNN it is “monitoring the event.” The investigative agency said midday Friday that it “has not initiated an official investigation at this time.”
The aircraft had 201 passengers, Delta said, along with two pilots and five flight attendants. The evacuees were driven on the tarmac back to the terminal.
The incident occurred at an airport that has been hard-hit by winter weather that has hammered a large swath of the South.
Atlanta’s airport has had more than 400 flights canceled as of 11 a.m. ET Friday, more than 40% of flights scheduled at the airport, according to data from the tracking site FlightAware. Nationwide, more than 2,500 flights have been canceled.
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