Delta passengers flying from the Netherlands to Detroit had a nasty shock on Sunday, when their flight was diverted to land in a small Canadian town after developing technical problems. The aircraft, an 18 year-old Airbus A330, landed safely at the airport in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, where passengers stayed overnight before heading on to Detroit the following day.
The flight was diverted on its way between Amsterdam and Detroit after its pilots experienced issues with the aircraft’s de-icing equipment. The pilots landed the plane safely at the air base of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Canada, where passengers were able to disembark and spend the night while Delta arranged alternative transport to Detroit.
The town where the plane landed has a population of just 8.000 people, so when the 270 passengers became stranded at the air base, there were only a few available hotel rooms in the nearby area. Instead, many of the passengers stayed overnight in the air base’s barracks, before being picked up by a plane to head to Detroit the next day. According to the AD, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has stated that it is investigating the incident.
The newspaper also revealed that this is not the first time that a Delta aircraft travelling from an airport in the Netherlands has had an issue with icing. On October 25, a flight to Los Angeles from Amsterdam was forced to turn around after 90 minutes because of problems with the equipment that keeps the wings free of ice.
Pilots have to take care with ice build ups on aircraft, since engines and other crucial mechanical parts on planes can malfunction if they become frozen. Aircraft are usually de-iced on the ground before departure, and then are maintained in the air by a number of special systems including heating strips and chemical de-icers.
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