A Boeing 767 operated by Delta Air Lines suffered an emergency skid Friday and returned to New York shortly after takeoff, officials said.
Delta Flight 520 was heading to Los Angeles after leaving New York's Kennedy International Airport when the flight crew discovered a problem with the plane's right-wing emergency exit slide. Delta Air Lines said its flight attendants also noticed unusual noises near the wings.
The pilot declared an emergency to air traffic controllers and the plane returned to Kennedy and landed safely, the airline said.
Delta Air Lines said it was determined that the emergency slide had “separated” from the plane after it landed. The plane was grounded and the airline said it would “thoroughly evaluate the aircraft.”
“Delta's crew conducted extensive training and followed protocols for returning to JFK,” the airline said in a statement, adding that it would “fully cooperate” with the recovery effort and investigation.
As of Saturday, it was not clear what caused the slide to come loose or where it landed.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it would investigate what happened.
The FAA said in a statement that the flight was scheduled to take off at 7:15 a.m. but returned to the airport at 8:35 a.m. after the flight attendant reported “vibrations.” The 176 passengers deplaned and took another plane to Los Angeles.
A slide has fallen from an airplane in the air before. In July, a United Airlines-operated passenger plane made an emergency run and crashed into a home near Chicago's O'Hare Airport. In 2019, a passenger fell from a Delta plane at a marshalling yard in Massachusetts.
A Boeing spokesperson referred questions about the plane that skidded on Friday to Delta Air Lines. This plane is a version of the Boeing 767 and was manufactured in 1990.