Smoke-filled Delta flight had "no oil visible" in right engine: NTSB

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After a Delta formation made an exigency landing successful Atlanta successful February, a attraction unit recovered determination was hardly immoderate oregon perchance "no lipid visible" successful the aircraft's close engine, the National Transportation Safety Board said successful a preliminary study released Wednesday.

Delta Air Lines Flight 876 was bound for South Carolina aft it took disconnected from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport connected Feb. 24. Not agelong aft the level was successful the air, "possible smoke" started filling the formation deck, the Federal Aviation Administration said astatine the time.

According to the NTSB's preliminary report, formation attendants successful the beforehand and rear of the craft each noticed fume coming done a doorway and "coming retired of each the vents" connected takeoff. They tried to alert the pilots but didn't initially get a response.

The pb formation attendant, who said the fume was truthful heavy "that helium was incapable to spot past the archetypal enactment of seats," knocked connected the cockpit door, the study said. That's erstwhile the pilots besides reported seeing fume rising from the level astatine the backmost of the cockpit and proceeding the formation attendants contacting them.

"They donned their oxygen masks and initially delayed responding to the formation attendant calls, arsenic the skipper focused connected flying the airplane portion archetypal serviceman declared an exigency with aerial postulation control," the NTSB study said.

The formation yet landed safely and astir 100 passengers were evacuated, the study said.

When attraction unit performed an introspection of the craft pursuing the incident, they recovered "no lipid disposable successful the show solid of the close motor reservoir," which indicated that the lipid was bare oregon astir empty, according to the NTSB report. The Boeing 717-200 airplane was equipped with Rolls-Royce engines, the study said.

It wasn't instantly wide whether the close motor lipid reservoir was successful that authorities earlier takeoff, and the NTSB's probe is inactive ongoing.

The preliminary NTSB study was among a fig of different reports of ongoing investigations the bureau released Wednesday. It comes amid the FAA's heightened concerns pursuing high-profile incidents, including large delays astatine Newark International Airport and the deadly midair collision betwixt a Black Hawk chopper and an American Eagle formation implicit the Potomac River successful January.