A Delta Airlines aircraft en route to New York’s JFK Airport declared an emergency after finding a ‘mechanical issue with flight deck window heat,’ and reversed course over the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday afternoon.
The flight DAL4 departed from London Heathrow Airport at 4.24pm local time on Tuesday, with an anticipated arrival at New York City at 9.23pm eastern time, as per FlightAware data.
The Boeing 767-400, carrying 129 passengers, three pilots and nine cabin crew members, was redirected to Shannon Airport in Ireland due to technical problems. The airline confirmed that standard protocols were followed, with the aircraft being directed to the nearest appropriate airport, Daily Mail reported.
All passengers and crew disembarked safely upon landing in Ireland.
Delta Airlines issued a statement: “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel plans. As nothing is more important than safety, the crew of Delta flight 4 followed standard procedures to divert to Shannon, Ireland after observing a mechanical issue.”
The airline added: “The flight landed safely and customers deplaned at an arrival gate.”
This incident occurred shortly after another aviation tragedy where at least 12 individuals, including an American citizen, perished when a small aircraft crashed into the Caribbean Sea.
The incident occurred on Monday night when the Jetstream aircraft, bound for the mainland, crashed shortly after departing from Roatan, Honduras.
The Lanhsa airline service was transporting 14 passengers and three crew members when the wreckage was discovered approximately 0.6 miles from the island’s shoreline, according to transport authorities.
Five survivors were rescued after what CBS described as an ‘apparent mechanical failure’ caused the aircraft to plunge into the sea.
Aviation official Carlos Padilla described the incident: “The plane almost fell on us. I was fishing.” The casualties included notable Honduran musician and politician Aurelio Martinez.