On Saturday night, a Delta Air Lines flight, identified as Flight DL43, made an unscheduled return to Los Angeles after detecting smoke in the galley. The aircraft, an Airbus A350-900, initially departed from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) bound for Sydney, Australia, but redirected back for safety reasons.
A spokesperson from Delta Air Lines emphasized the paramount importance of safety for both customers and staff, which prompted the flight crew to adhere to established protocols and return to Los Angeles after the smoke detection. Apologies were extended to the passengers for the resulting travel delays. The aircraft was carrying 162 passengers and landed safely, proceeding to the arrival gate without incident.
Following the unscheduled return, efforts were made to accommodate passengers on other flights later that evening. Fox News Digital reached out to Los Angeles International Airport for additional comments on the situation.
This incident happened amidst a series of recent aircraft accidents in North America. A notable event involved a Delta flight, operated by Endeavor Air, which crashed and flipped upside down at Toronto Pearson Airport following its departure from Minneapolis–St. Paul Airport. This accident resulted in over 20 injuries, including three critical cases, but no fatalities.
In another tragic event, a commuter plane crash near the coast of Alaska claimed the lives of 10 individuals. Additionally, a mid-air collision near Washington, D.C., involving a military Black Hawk helicopter and a commercial flight, resulted in 67 fatalities on January 29. On January 31, a medical transport Learjet 55 crashed in Philadelphia, leading to the deaths of a pediatric patient, her mother, four crew members, and a motorist on the ground, along with injuries to two dozen others.
There have also been reports of plane crashes in Asia in recent months. In South Korea, a Jeju Air flight crash led to the deaths of 179 people, while an Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan on Christmas resulted in 38 fatalities and 29 injuries.
