SHORT TRIP

‘Mechanical Issue’ Turns Flight Around After Less Than 20 Minutes

The aircraft returned to its initial airport after only 17 minutes in the air.

A Delta Air Lines flight heading to Minneapolis from Paris on Wednesday had to turn back to France after less than 20 minutes in the air. The decision to reroute was made after signs of a mechanical issue were observed. Delta Flight 153 departed Paris Charles de Gaulle at around 10:53 a.m. local time, but had to turn around 17 minutes into the flight, returning to CDG by about 11:47 a.m., according to Flightradar24 data. The aircraft never climbed higher than 9,500 feet. A Delta spokesperson told the Beast that the Airbus A330-300 had to return to its original airport “due to an indication of a mechanical issue” related to the aircraft’s flaps. Since the aircraft was just beginning an international journey, it had a lot of fuel, so the crew considered the situation an emergency due to the excessive fuel weight. This granted the flight “priority handling from air traffic control,“ according to the airline. Delta added that the 177 passengers “were reaccommodated on same-day flights” while the aircraft goes through “evaluation by Delta maintenance technicians.”