Syracuse, N.Y. — A Delta Air Lines flight from Detroit to Germany was cruising at 37,000 feet over Central New York when it began experiencing engine trouble.
“We’ve got one engine that’s running a little rough,” one of the pilots told air traffic controllers Tuesday evening.
The pilots decided to divert to Syracuse Hancock International Airport. They were worried about the plane being overweight with seven hours of fuel still onboard.
They requested Runway 10/28 — the longest at the airport, measuring more than 9,000 feet. They also asked for firefighters to meet the plane, worried that the brakes on the landing gear could overheat.
“We’re going to be a little fast and a little heavy coming in,” one of the pilots told controllers.
The Airbus A330-200 with 95 passengers and crew landed safely around 7:20 p.m. Tuesday.
Delta said in a statement to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard Wednesday that Flight 86 had received “an indicator warning of a possible problem” with one of the planes two engines. The pilots diverted to Syracuse out of abundance of caution, the airline said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it will investigate the incident.
Flight 86 departed Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport at 5:39 p.m. Tuesday, 11 minutes ahead of schedule.
One of the pilots made contact by radio with Syracuse-area air traffic controllers around 6:50 p.m. Tuesday and requested a “precautionary landing.” There were 95 souls onboard, he said.
“Right now, all systems are normal,” the pilot said, according to an audio recording on LiveATC.net, a website that posts live and archived recordings of radio transmissions. “But what we’d like to do is go out and take a nice, gentle letdown here with a long, final inbound.”
The pilots faced one more issue as they prepared to land, this time from the ground. At least two light systems were out of service at the airport, including centerline lights for the runway they were…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply