A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Sydney, Australia, was forced to turn back to Los Angeles on Saturday night after smoke was detected in the galley.
Flight DL43, an Airbus A350-900 carrying 162 passengers, departed from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) headed to Sydney before the issue prompted an emergency diversion. The aircraft landed safely and taxied to the gate without incident. Delta confirmed that passengers were rebooked on alternate flights later that evening.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people,” a Delta spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “That’s why the flight crew followed established procedures to return to Los Angeles (LAX) after smoke was detected in the galley. We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels.”
There was allegedly no smoke in the cockpit, but pilots requested medical attention for passengers who may have been affected by smoke, according to audio from LiveATC.net.
This incident follows a string of aviation mishaps in North America in recent weeks. A Delta flight operated by Endeavor Air crash-landed upside down at Toronto Pearson Airport, injuring over 20 people. Additionally, a commuter plane crash off the coast of Alaska earlier this month claimed ten lives, and a tragic military-civilian aircraft collision near Washington, D.C., resulted in 67 deaths.
Internationally, fatal aviation accidents have also made headlines. A Jeju Air crash in South Korea left 179 dead, and an Azerbaijan Airlines flight disaster in Kazakhstan killed 38 people.
While air travel remains among the safest modes of transportation, these incidents highlight the ongoing importance of strict safety protocols and swift emergency response in aviation.
