A Delta flight was diverted to an island in the Atlantic this week after the plane experienced a mechanical issue, leaving the nearly 300 passengers on the island for a day.
The New York-bound flight took off from Madrid on Sunday, but as the flight made its way over the ocean, the flight crew had to divert it to an island in the Azores island group.
A Delta spokesperson said that the crew landed the plane “after indication of a mechanical issue with an engine”. Delta did not elaborate on what exactly the mechanical issue was. Passengers got off the plane and spent the night in hotels.
“The flight landed safely, and we sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience and delay in their travels,” a Delta statement said.
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Roughly 282 customers and 13 crew members were on the flight. They were provided accommodations and meals for the night, as technicians worked on the plane.
The Azores is a cluster of Portuguese islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The US government has an air force base there, in the town of Lajes, where Delta’s Sunday flight was diverted.
The customers and crew were placed on a new plane, which then arrived at New York’s John F Kennedy airport the following day, 7 July.
Delta will be offering compensation to the customers who were affected by the diversion.
The US has seen a series of plane incidents and crashes this year. In Washington DC, a plane collided with a Black Hawk helicopter, killing 60 people. In Toronto, a Delta flight coming from Minneapolis caught fire and flipped upside down. Everyone survived.
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