A Delta Air Lines flight attendant reportedly suffered injuries on Saturday when an emergency slide inside the aircraft unintentionally inflated while the crew was preparing the doors for takeoff.
According to the New York Post, the event happened after the 26-year-old Boeing 767 had already been forced to change its path due to an unrelated mechanical issue.
Although sources have confirmed that the crew member wasn’t significantly hurt and was released from the hospital the same day, the injured flight attendant was allegedly struck in the head by the inflatable slide and required transportation to the hospital.
Delta Air flight DL520 departed New York JFK at around 7:50 am on Saturday for the transcontinental flight to Los Angeles International Airport, but while en route, the Captain told passengers that the plane would have to make an unscheduled stop in Salt Lake City due to an issue with the plane’s temperature instruments.
this is the most cursed plane ive ever been on the engine heater iced over so we had to stop in salt lake city for two hours while they changed it and we just got back on and a life raft in the back suddenly exploded and hit a gay flight attendant in the head pic.twitter.com/wh49BKqgJv
— soph (@alivegirl001101) June 10, 2023
The flight arrived in Salt Lake City without a hitch, and the passengers were permitted to disembark while the problem was being rectified before being allowed to board again for the rescheduled departure time of 1 pm.
The inflatable evacuation slide at the back of the aircraft activated and inflated within the aircraft when the Captain instructed the flight attendants to arm the doors for departure once the aircraft was prepared to push back.
When a door is “armed” for departure, the emergency slide is prepared to open automatically if the door is opened. While many emergency slides are kept inside the airplane in a plastic container, some are incorporated into the fuselage of the craft.
An inadvertent internal slide inflation can be extremely dangerous and could result in significant damage or even death due to the force and speed with which evacuation slides are designed to deploy.
A spokesperson for Delta confirmed that a slide was accidentally deployed on Saturday’s flight, saying: “Delta flight 520, operating from New York-JFK to Los Angeles, diverted to Salt Lake City due to a maintenance issue.”
“While on the ground, the same aircraft’s slide was deployed by accident,” the spokesperson added.
“In an effort to get our customers to their final destination as quickly and safely as possible, they have been re-accommodated on a new aircraft. We apologize for the delay to their traveling plans. Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people.”
Photo cover via Twitter: @alivegirl001101
