Delta Flight Fills With Smoke During Takeoff; Preliminary NTSB Report Points To Engine Oil Issue

 

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reveals that the right engine of a Delta Air Lines flight that filled with smoke during takeoff had no visible oil in its reservoir, raising new questions about the cause of the incident.

The event occurred on February 24 aboard Delta Flight 876, a Boeing 717-200 scheduled to fly from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Columbia, South Carolina. Shortly after takeoff, the cabin began filling with thick smoke.

A flight attendant stationed at the rear of the aircraft reported that smoke was "coming out of all the vents." Meanwhile, a crew member near the front of the plane described the smoke as so dense that he "was unable to see past the first row of seats."

Attempts to alert the cockpit were delayed, as the flight crew was already managing the emergency situation and smoke had started entering the flight deck. The pilots focused on flying the aircraft while declaring an emergency with air traffic control.

As the plane returned to the airport, a low oil pressure warning for the right engine triggered in the cockpit, prompting the crew to shut the engine down. Visibility challenges from the smoke and their protective masks led the pilots to request a different runway for landing.

Despite the challenging conditions, the crew landed safely and brought the aircraft to a stop on the runway, where emergency slides were deployed for evacuation. All 99 passengers and crew members exited the plane, though two passengers sustained minor injuries during the evacuation process.

The NTSB is continuing its investigation. The exact cause of the smoke and the significance of the missing engine oil will be determined in the agency’s final report, typically released within a year of the incident.