A Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City bound for Amsterdam had to cut its journey short on March 24 after the plane experienced technical trouble mid-air. The plane got as far as the Montana-North Dakota boundary after pilots became aware of a missing panel behind one of the two engines.
The panel reportedly fell off during takeoff, although it’s currently still unclear how it came to the attention of the pilots. The Airbus A330neo returned to Salt Lake City three hours after it was forced to turn around.
Information obtained from a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety database showed that a pylon panel behind the engine on the left wing detached on takeoff.
Pylons are structures used to attach engines to the wing. These also include non-load-bearing fairing panels which are in place to improve aerodynamics.
According to Delta Airlines, the Airbus was carrying 260 passengers and 13 crewmembers. The plane returned safely after reporting a “mechanical issue,” the company said in a statement on March 26.
No injuries were reported and the plane taxied to the gate under its own power. The airline said it apologized to customers for the delay and inconvenience caused, and said it was working to get them to their destinations as quickly as possible.
The occurrence, however, was not an isolated incident. In 2024 alone, three such incidents were reported, when panels had come off U.S. jetliners.
Although not as harrowing as the blowout of a door plug from a new Alaska Airlines jetliner over Oregon in January, there have been several occasions this year where U.S. jetliners were forced to cut journeys short or make an emergency landing.
Earlier this month, a piece of aluminum skin on a 26-year-old United Airlines jet was missing after the plane landed in Oregon. As was the case with January’s blowout, both incidents involved Boeing 737s.
Also this month, another Delta Airlines Boeing 737 was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing after one of the engines blew out during take off from the Caribbean island of Aruba. The plane was bound for Atlanta and was carrying 168 passengers and six crewmembers.
The pilot circled the island several times before landing, which resulted in a day’s delay for the passengers, who were flown out the following day.
A spokesperson for the company issued a similar statement to the most recent occurrence.
The incidents sparked new concerns with FAA officials, who told Boeing that it must improve on safety and quality control issues before it will be allowed to boost 737 MAX production, the Daily Mail reported.
The two-aisle Airbus jet involved in the most recent incident was built in 2020. According to Flightradar24, a flight-tracking site, the plane has not flown since the aborted flight on March 24.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.