A Delta flight from Atlanta to LA had to make an emergency landing after smoke began filling the cabin with many passengers thinking “this was the end.”
Delta Flight 2846 made an emergency landing in Albuquerque, New Mexico after a mysterious smoke filled both the passenger cabin and the cockpit.
Video footage filmed on the plane showed the cabin filling with smoke. Passenger and podcaster Gary Vaughn said he could only see a “few rows” in front of him.
“I knew something catastrophic had happened,” he said on his podcast.
“Everybody was crying, everybody was screaming, everybody thought essentially the engines were shut down. And you could hear that we were just kind of gliding…we were still pretty steady. There wasn’t turbulence, there wasn’t anything.”
The pilot explained to the 193 passengers that they had “lost oil pressure in the right engine” and that it had “lost all power,” Vaughn said.
Ever the professionals, Vaughn said the four flight attendants were up and handing out water to passengers.
“The screaming, crying people definitely thought that this was the end,” he said. “It was harrowing at best. When you watch movies and see all of the frantic crying and screaming and you hear those types of things, it’s exactly what went on.”
Fellow passenger, Mason Weiner, posted on his Twitter account that the smoke came from “burnt oil” in the engine.
Scary moment on #delta flight 2846 from ATL-LAX as an engine went out and the smoke from burnt oil came into the cabin.
The crew was amazing and made everything as smooth as possible while making an emergency landing in #Albuquerque @Delta pic.twitter.com/HCtc8LI0GY
— Mason Weiner (@MasonWeiner84) November 1, 2022
Delta has not released an official reason for the smoke.
Thankfully, the pilots were able to land safely at Albuquerque International Sunport, according to FAA Public Affairs Specialist Donnell Evans.
Various videos posted online by passengers show the cabin filling with smoke, with a heavier concentration toward the front of the plane.
As most passengers continued to sit calmly, an emergency alarm was going off steadily.
Delta Airlines told DailyMail.com in a statement, “Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and crew.”
Delta’s maintenance professionals are looking into the plane’s malfunction.
“Delta did a great job,” Vaughn said. “I think their flight crew was tremendous, they kept everybody calm.”
According to Vaughn, Delta offered the passengers a $150 flight credit. However, Vaughn doesn’t think it is enough after the experience they went through.
Vaughn said, “When I watch disaster movies now, I’ll completely understand the terror. It was crazy.”
