Delta Passengers Forced to Make Emergency Exit After Tires Collapsed During Landing
Passengers were forced to evacuate a Delta Airlines plane on Wednesday after one of the tires popped on the landing gear.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the incident occurred around 6 p.m., when a Delta aircraft made a rough landing at Georgia's Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Audio caught the moment pilots detected an issue. “It sounds like we blew a tire, [flight] 1437. Is that correct?” one of the pilots radioed to the tower.
“Yes, sir. We did see smoke and fire coming off of one of your tires,” the flight controller confirms.
According to ABC 7, one tire popped and another was shredded as the plane touched down, sending it skidding down the runway. Passengers aboard the flight were footage captured them evacuating the plane via an emergency slide. They were then shuttled by bus to the airline’s terminal.
A video taken of the aftermath shows emergency crews tending to the plane on the runway. In the background, passengers can be heard laughing and chatting animatedly.
“The Delta team was extremely organized and professional with no panic,” passenger Bruce Campbell told 11Alive. “There are probably 100 ground safety personnel here and 20 vehicles, so the response was amazing.”
"We appreciate the efforts of our flight crew and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport first responders to manage through the safe landing of flight 1437 at our hub this afternoon," Delta told ABC. "We apologize to each for this experience—nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and crew."
There were 190 people aboard the aircraft. One injury was reported, though there’s been no update as to how severe or what the specific cause was. The FAA is investigating the incident.
