A Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-300 promptly aborted takeoff from Paris after pilots received an engine fire warning. To passengers onboard, it felt like an “explosion” had taken place.
Delta Air Lines A330-300 Encounters Engine Issue In Paris
On July 23, 2024 Delta flight DL95 was scheduled to depart from Paris (CDG) at 8:55 am for an eight-hour journey to Detroit (DTW). However, the flight never took off. As the 20-year-old A330-300 (registration N806NW) was spooling for takeoff, pilots received a fire warning from engine one (engine to the pilots’ left).
Takeoff was aborted and emergency vehicles met the aircraft and doused the engine in fire-retardent foam. The flight was canceled and as of July 26, the aircraft remains on the ground in Paris. This A330-300 had Pratt & Whitney PW4168A engines.
Our 15 yo stranded without us in Europe by The Outage, just had her @Delta flight’s engine explode on takeoff from Paris. Now they’re telling us Thursday, maybe, she’ll get home FIVE DAYS LATE? In a lifetime of travel I’ve never anything like this. pic.twitter.com/NIuHNgh0nG
— Patrick Hubbard (@FerventGeek) July 23, 2024
Turns out the engine did not explode…a bird strike is thought to have occured, but that has not been confirmed. Thus far, Delta has only said:
Due to a mechanical issue with the aircraft, we have canceled this flight. We’re sorry for the inconvenience.
The plane sat on the tarmac for about 90 minutes before it was towed off and passengers were allowed to exit. As an Air France hub and an airport with a strong Delta presence, passengers were accommodated to their final destinations on other routes.
CONCLUSION
Most eyes this week have been on Delt’s operational meltdown due to faulty crew scheduling software, but this flight is a reminder that there are still other every day occurences that cause a ripple effect of delays and cancelations.
Patrick Hubbard, the passenger who captured the photo above, had a good attitude about the delay:
Compared with PAX in the ATL airport, we’re really grateful the kid’s school tour company found a hotel and seats home, if days delayed. Folks in Atlanta look really exhausted. Can’t imagine..
— Patrick Hubbard (@FerventGeek) July 23, 2024
Yes, it could have been far worse…
image: Patrick Hubbard / @FerventGeek (X)
Glad that the passengers are alright. It’s been a rough stretch for DL.
But if that picture in the tweet is from the person’s kid, then they’re clearly flying in J on that A333 and would’ve had an easier time getting on another flight compared to those in Y.
“Faulty crew scheduling software”? Really? If I read the news correctly, the single point of failure has been “Crowdcrap”. Hopefully, Delta will figure a way to prevent this from happening again. No doubt that people have a “bad taste in their mouth” about the meltdown. If I read correctly, the “Crowdcrap” software brought down other airlines, hospitals, and other critical services…not just Delta.
Then you’ve not been reading the news correctly. It’s more nuanced than that and both parties are at fault, but largely Delta for having no DR plan to implement in event of such a widescale outage. Crowdstrike is absolutely not without blame, but your oversimplification is incorrect.
If this happened on one of their Boeing 767s instead, the passenger wouldn’t have blamed Delta
Ugh. That’s no way to treat an airplane engine.