CASTAWAY

Delta Jet Forced to Land on Remote Island After Mid-Air Emergency

The New York-bound flight had to divert to a location in the Atlantic Ocean.

Nearly 300 Delta Air Lines passengers were forced to spend 29 hours on a remote volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after their flight from Madrid to New York was forced to make an emergency landing due to an engine malfunction. Delta Flight 127, carrying 282 passengers and 13 crew members, diverted to Terceira in the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago made up of nine small islands around 1,000 miles off the mainland, after the aircraft experienced mechanical issues mid-flight. The Airbus A330 landed safely at Lajes Airport on Sunday, and passengers were disembarked within an hour of landing, offered meals, and provided with accommodation at nearby hotels. They eventually boarded a new flight to JFK airport on Monday and arrived safely. Delta did not specify the nature of the mechanical problem but said it would be contacting travellers directly to apologize and offer them compensation. “As safety comes before all else at Delta, the flight crew followed procedures to divert to Lajes, Azores (TER) after indication of a mechanical issue with an engine,” a Delta spokesperson told CBS News.