Morgan Steffens-Benoit and Jacob Markham gave each other an unsure look when their flight came to a sudden stop on a snow-covered runway at Atlanta’s airport Friday morning.
Panic started to creep in while the vacationing Winnipeg couple looked out a window and saw black smoke billowing from one of the engines of the Delta Air Lines plane.
“I started to get a little nervous, and that’s when they told us to put our heads down (in a brace position),” said Steffens-Benoit, who was in a window seat near the engine. “I was anxious, and then we were told to evacuate the plane.”
Jacob Markham photo
Passengers evacuate a Delta Airlines flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Friday. The plane was carrying 201 passengers and seven crew members.
After the aborted takeoff, the couple, along with about 200 other people, including children, slid down the Boeing 757-300’s inflatable emergency slides while a rare winter storm created widespread disruption in southeastern U.S. states.
“I still kind of don’t believe that it happened. It kind of feels like a dream,” Markham said.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport said four people suffered minor injuries. One was taken to hospital, while the others were treated at the airport.
The cause of the engine problem is under investigation. The plane was due to fly to Minneapolis when it was grounded shortly after 9 a.m. local time.
The emergency evacuation brought a dramatic end to Steffens-Benoit and Markham’s holiday in Georgia’s capital.
They were rebooked on the flight that experienced engine trouble, after their original departure was cancelled.
Markham, 23, said there was a long wait before takeoff because a ground crew had to de-ice the plane twice.
“We finally got to the runway and were just about to leave the ground when they came to a stop,” he said.
Smoke was billowing from the aircraft’s right engine.
“It wasn’t a ton of smoke at first. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s kind of strange,’” Markham said.
The announcement to brace was followed by an order to leave the plane immediately.
“I got up and kind of panicked a little bit, and we then went to the slides. It all happened really quickly,” Markham said. “It was quite a bit of adrenaline and shock involved.”
Passengers, for the most part, were calm and orderly, while the plane’s crew delivered calm and clear instructions, said the couple, who praised airline and airport staff.
Markham relied on all of the in-flight safety demonstrations and videos he’s seen while travelling, when it was his turn to use a slide, which was wet from falling snow.
“It’s surprisingly steep and quite fast. You just have to trust it,” he said. “There’s a lip at the (bottom) that lifts you up. You have to be ready to get into a walking position right away.”
“As soon as you sit, you zoom down and it pushes you up at the bottom,” Steffens-Benoit, 21, said.
Fire trucks were on scene by the time the couple slid down to the runway.
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Jacob Markham and Morgan Steffens-Benoit were passengers who had to evacuate the Delta Airlines flight.
Most passengers weren’t dressed for the cold while they waited for buses to arrive and take them to a terminal. Some people were wearing shorts, Markham said.
The plane was carrying 201 passengers and seven crew members (two pilots and five flight attendants).
“Delta’s flight crew followed established procedures to suspend the takeoff of flight 2668 from Atlanta to Minneapolis-St. Paul after an indication of an engine issue,” a spokesperson for the Atlanta-based airline said in a statement.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our people and customers, and we apologize to our customers for their experience. We are working to support our customers and get them to their destinations as safely and quickly as possible.”
The winter storm led to hundreds of cancellations. A WestJet flight from Atlanta to Winnipeg in the afternoon was among those grounded, according to airport timetables.
All five runways at Hartsfield-Jackson were closed for more than two hours. It is the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic, according to Airports Council International data.
The U.S. National Weather Service gave a preliminary snowfall total of about five centimetres for the area by late Friday afternoon.
“It’s not that much for a Winnipegger, but for Atlanta it’s a pretty big deal,” Markham said.
Steffens-Benoit and Markham, who spoke to the Free Press by phone after rebooking their flights at the airport, will return home to Winnipeg, via Minneapolis, a couple days later than planned.
“I’m nervous to get on another plane,” Steffens-Benoit said. “I’ve not done as much travel. I’m sure this (engine incident) is more rare, and I’m probably OK.”
The Federal Aviation Administration, the government regulator of civil aviation in the U.S., is investigating the incident.
The independent National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates aviation incidents in the U.S., was monitoring the situation. It had not started an official investigation, a spokesperson said.
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching
Reporter
Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
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