Delta Air Lines Plane Loses Part In Mid-Flight, Makes Emergency U-Turn

A Netherlands-bound Delta Air Lines airplane returned to Utah after losing an engine pylon panel during takeoff Sunday, according to reports.

The Airbus A330neo carrying 260 passengers and 13 crew members departed Salt Lake City for Amsterdam and had reached the Montana-North Dakota boundary before safely returning to Salt Lake City as one of the engine pylon panels had fallen off on takeoff, the Associated Press (AP) reported. It was not immediately clear how the pilots learned of the missing part, but Delta acknowledged there was “a reported mechanical issue” with the two-aisle Airbus jet, according to the report.
Delta reportedly apologized to the passengers for the delay caused by the incident.

The airplane had gained a cruising altitude of 35,000 ft (10,668 m) and had been in the air for just over an hour when it aborted its flight to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, according to Simple Flying. The flight crew reportedly did not alert the passengers of the incident as the airplane turned around and made its way back to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).