Delta Flight 2204 had barely left the ground Saturday morning when things took an unexpected turn. The Boeing 757, carrying 199 passengers and six crew members, was headed from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Orlando when the flight crew noticed fumes on the flight deck.
Following standard emergency procedures, the pilots declared an emergency and turned the plane around, heading straight back to Atlanta rather than continuing on to Florida, a Delta spokesperson confirmed to Fox News.
Slides Deployed on the Taxiway
Rather than taxiing to a gate, the aircraft was met directly on the taxiway by first responders who had been alerted ahead of its arrival. With safety crews standing by, everyone on board evacuated using the plane’s inflatable emergency slides.
From there, ground teams loaded passengers and crew onto buses and drove them back to the main terminal. No gate, no jet bridge, just a straight trip off the runway and into the building.
What Delta Is Saying
In a statement provided to Fox News, Delta laid out what happened and apologized for the disruption. The airline confirmed the crew followed proper protocol in returning to Atlanta after the fume reports, and that the slide evacuation took place on the taxiway once the plane was on the ground.
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Delta also said affected travelers are being placed on a different aircraft so they can still reach Orlando. Meanwhile, the grounded 757 is not going anywhere until maintenance crews finish looking it over.
Cause Still Under Investigation
As of now, Delta has not said what actually caused the fumes to appear in the cockpit. Airline maintenance teams are on site working to pin down the source of the problem before the aircraft returns to service.
No injuries were mentioned in connection with the evacuation or the fume report.