A Delta flight that had to make an emergency landing and evacuate after thick smoke billowed through the cabin had “no visible oil” in one of its engines, according to a report into the incident.
Delta Flight DL876 was heading from Atlanta, Georgia to Columbia in South Carolina on February 24 but had to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff.
The National Transport Safety Board found indications that the aircraft suffered an oil system failure in a preliminary report released Wednesday.
“During a post incident examination, maintenance personnel found no oil visible in the sight glass of the right engine oil reservoir, indicating the quantity was at or near zero,” the report said.
Flight attendants noticed the smoke “coming out of all the vents” during takeoff and “attempted to contact the pilots using the emergency call button but did not get a response,” the report said. “They also took turns using the interphone to try and announce to the pilots that there was smoke in the cabin.”
The attendants knocked on the cockpit door to alert the pilots, but because smoke had already started to enter the cockpit, the pilots first focused on flying the plane and declaring an emergency with air traffic control.
“The lead FA recalled that the smoke was very thick, and that he was unable to see past the first row of seats,” the report said.
A low oil pressure alarm from the right engine sounded in the cockpit once the plane returned to the airport and the engine was shut down.
Passengers were evacuated from the aircraft and of the 97 people on board, including the crew, two suffered minor injuries.
“The flight crew followed procedures to return to Atlanta when a haze inside the aircraft was observed after departure,” Delta said in a statement at the time. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, and we apologize to our customers for the experience.”
The investigation into the right engine is ongoing.
The report comes amid the Federal Aviation Authority’s heightened concerns after January’s deadly midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and chaos at Newark Liberty Airport due to understaffing at air traffic control.
